Distant Shadows
by AuthorJ
Summary: Months have passed since the events surrounding Emerl in silence, until Rouge is presented with an anonymous call for her service, with a very personal condition attached.
1. Problems Arise

**Distant Shadows Chapter 1 – Problems Arise**

Me: Well, time to get back into gear.

Shadow the Hedgehog: This is your second fanfiction, correct?

Me: Yup, that it is.

Rouge: Jeez, why don't you give it a little time between fics?

Me: I did, but 's had so many things bringing it into Read Only mode lately I couldn't take waiting anymore. Besides, I'm finally in the mood to write this story!!!

Amy Rose: #Chases Sonic through the background# SOONIIIIIIC!!!

Me: ... maybe bringing her into the Author Commentary Area with Sonic was a bad idea...?

Sonic: NAW, YA THINK?!!

* * *

**Flashback: 2 Years Ago, Egg Fleet**

_Rouge grinned as she entered the Holding Bay of Eggman's head ship, Final Fortress. After successfully defeating the Egg Emperor, Eggman's final mechanical monstrosity, she had felt it was time to claim her rewards from his ship and leave. "Now let's find that secret treasure..." Only seconds after arriving in the room, Rouge gasped, her eyes wide. Surrounding her were hundreds of capsules, similar to the one she had found Shadow in. Each one carried an identical copy, a clone, of the black Hedgehog. The doors into the holding bay opened behind her as Omega stepped in, the sound of metal clashing with metal eminating from every step it took. "Prepare to destroy immediate area."_

_Rouge turned, beginning to leave the room. She came to a stop, sighing and looking to Omega. "Hey, Omega... Did I ever tell you that Shadow is a robot, and..." She lowered her gaze to the floor and ears back against her skull as she said this, quickly shaking her head and bringing her eyes up again. "Oh, nevermind... Good luck!" As she passed Omega, the machine-man spoke, as if trying to comfort her. "You know about cloning..." Rouge came to a halt as she heard this, turning her gaze over her shoulder as Omega continued down the room, it's hands sinking into the gauntlets and bringing out it's Gatling Guns. "The original must exist somewhere."_

_Rouge grinned a bit as she heard this, then did a sort of salute as she exited the room. She walked to the edge of the Fortress' platform, coming to a halt beside Shadow. "All this for what? Nothing!!! I might as well go look for that Master Emerald since that irritated ECHIDNA is here..." As she said this, she and Shadow started to walk down the platform, Shadow beginning to chuckle softly. "Heh, some things never change, do they?" Rouge huffed a bit, then grinned, crossing her arms. "Whaddya saying?! What else is a famous Treasure Hunter supposed to do?!"_

**The Present: 2 Years Later, Club Rouge**

Rouge sighed as she lay back on a sofa. It had been relatively boring lately, mainly due to the fact that Shadow had left upon his own will six months ago to "try and find purpose for himself", as he had said. She had no jobs from the President, so she was there to tend to her club, watching people gamble themselves silly. She looked down over herself, for the first time really noticing that in this time of peace, even her attire had changed. She wore a sparkling red dress that ran straight down to her ankles, a slit cut from the base up to her thigh area on the right side. The slit gave view to black stockings that fit to her legs' forms perfectly. Matching red high heels were resting beside the sofa, ready for her to slip into at a moment's notice if she needed to deal with something. Upon her arms, from her elbows to her hands, she wore red gloves, also fitting to her form. She gave a gentle sigh, shifting her attention from security monitors to the ceiling above, thinking to herself. _'I haven't seen Shadow since Emerl was destroyed... No jobs from the president, and almost no hassle from any of the Casino-goers...'_

She sighed, sitting up and sliding her feet into her high heels. She then stood, walking to the Executive Elevator and entering it, heading into the Sub-Basement level she had secretly put in. As the elevator arrived and the doors slid open, she walked into the hidden area, looking over countless treasures that she had plundered over her years as a Treasure Hunter. She walked to a box filled with rings and gave a gentle sigh. She lifted out a ring made with Onyx and Ruby, running her thumb over it as her ears lowered, still lost in her thoughts. _'Shadow, when will you come back...? I can take care of you here, you don't need to find a purpose...' _

Rouge blinked, hearing screaming upstairs. She narrowed her eyes, setting her ring back in it's box and rushing over to a wardrobe made of Mahogany. She stepped out of her high heels and opened the wardrobe and slipped out of her dress, pulling out her old battle outfit. She'd worn this particular one when she had met Shadow, and when she had learned of Emerl. She slid into it, sighing as she felt the black latex of the suit hugging against her curvaceous figure. She stepped into her boots, tapping them against the ground as she heard the metal picks built into them banging against the cold concrete floor. She grabbed her white gloves from the wardrobe and dashed to the elevator, putting them on as she went. "Whoever's making trouble in my Club is really gonna get it!!!"

Just three minutes later she arrived on the lobby floor, her eyes scanning the casino floor. She found her culprits, three robots, gray in color, resembling Chaos Gamma. She cracked her knuckles, walking forward. "Eggman's flunkies, huh...? I'll teach him not to screw with my casino!!!" Rouge charged forward, jumping up in the air. She came into a Drill Dive straight on top of one of the Chaos Gamma's, plowing straight through it. She jumped back as it exploded, making sure she wasn't caught in the blast. The remaining two shifted their attention to her, holding up their Gatling Gun arms. "Assault and destruction CGC ( Chaos Gamma Copy ) Unit 2 verified. Assailant acquired as new target. Beginning battle mo---"

The unit flew back, slamming straight into a wall from the impact of a powerful kick. Rouge intended to make sure that these robots would pay, intent on dealing with this quickly instead of letting the robots run their mouths. She turned and flipped forward in the air, bringing both heels down on the other unit's head. It stumbled back, it's cybernetic eyes caved into it's body. "You chose the wrong day to mess with me!!!" Rouge brought her left leg back in the air and thrust it forward, straight through the 'bot. Unfortunately, this was a move she would soon regret. She tried to pull her leg back, but grit her teeth as a sharp pain ran through it. She looked into the hole she had created, finding her leg and boot caught on a sharp pipe within the copy. This left her immobilized as the robot blew up, sending her flying back, crashing through multiple slot machines until she came to a screeching halt on the floor, coughing up blood. It was a miracle she hadn't lost her leg, or her life, in the explosion, but she was in no condition to fight anymore.

Rouge forced herself up into a sitting position, holding one arm as she bit down on her bottom lip, trying not to concentrate on the pain. The explosion had incinerated all of her clothes, save for the metallic picks upon her boots. Her eyes shot wide as she heard metallic foot steps against the carpet floor. She looked up, narrowing her eyes. The CGC Unit that she'd kicked into the wall earlier was still in fighting condition, and lumbering towards her, it's arms shifting themselves into electrified talons. "Target acquired. Commencing destruction." The CGC jumped into the air and thrust it's arms forward towards Rouge. Rouge grit her teeth, turning her head to the side with her eyes shut tight as she waited for the final blow.

She heard thrusters coming from another direction right out of no where, and then the sound of metal slamming into metal. She opened her eyes to find E-123 Omega holding the CGC copy in it's hands. "Worthless consumer model!" As it said this, it ripped it in half, throwing the halves into a corner as he watched them explode. It looked to Rouge, scanning her for damage. It then brought out a Chaos Emerald and handed it to her. "Use it's power to restore your physical status." Rouge blinked, nodding and harnessing the Chaotic Energies in a way that Shadow had taught her 7 months ago during the Emerl Incident. She stood up a moment after, covering her chest and crotch area with a slight blush. She was healed, and very happy that the robots had driven out all her customers. "U, uhh..."

Omega looked to Rouge, it's red eyes glowing lightly as it fell out of it's Battle Mode. "Do not be embarrassed. As a machine, I have no interest in the bodies of you organic creatures." Rouge sighed, nodding as she thought to herself. _'But that doesn't mean that anyone who gets their hands on the tapes from the security cameras won't... I'll just destroy them later...' _She sighed, looking to the Executive Elevator. "Come on, let's go upstairs and talk about this before the police get here to investigate..."

* * *

About a half hour later, Rouge walked out of the bathroom in her room above the club. She sighed, wearing a snow white robe tied shut about her waist. She felt much cleaner now that she got all of her blood and the ash from the explosion off her body. As she rubbed a towel up and down her hair to dry it off, she raised an eyebrow to Omega, who was standing silently in the corner. "I doubt you came to my club just to save me or say "Hello", so what's the occasion, Omega?" 

Omega walked forward, it's chest plate opening up and revealing a built in monitor. "This is a transmission that I received approximately 3 days ago from a being that is not registered within my data base. It came with specific instructions stating that you were to view this..." As Omega said this, a video played. There was a figure hanging in chains as the video began to clear up, obviously the creator of the video having had issues bringing it into focus. Rouge gasped and dropped her towel, her eyes wide as the video cleared up and transmitted a clear image. "Sh... Shadow!!!" Shadow grit his teeth as he was hung up by his wrists in the video, dangling in mid-air. There were lacerations and other injuries dotted across his body.

A figure walked on screen, wrapped in a black cloak. "Rouge the Bat. I am sure that you know the figure behind me is none other than Shadow the Hedgehog. No doubt that, after careful observation, it would seem that you two share a close relationship. If you want your friend here to survive any longer, I'd suggest you listen to my demands. On Saturday at Eleven O'Clock in the evening, you're to come to the ruins of Prison Island. There, I will speak to you of my conditions on his safety, and possible return... Refuse, and you'll only receive his head on a platter... I hope to see you there, Ms. Rouge. Oh, and, bring Omega with you... You'll need at least one ally for the conditions I've set..."

Rouge grit her teeth as the video ended, then dropped to her knees, slamming her right fist into the ground. "THAT BASTARD!!!" She growled, shuddering in a mixture of rage and sadness. It suddenly made sense as to why Shadow hadn't even stopped by using his Chaos Control. He couldn't. Rouge stood up, her eyes narrowed into a glare she'd never worn before. Rouge turned, walking to the elevator, Omega following behind her. Rouge reached the Sub-Basement and hurried to the Mahogany wardrobe she'd kept her other outfit in, revealing many that were identical to it. She dressed quickly and pulled out her Treasure Scope, latching it around her right ear and bringing the scope over her right eye. She also wore her Iron Boots this time, dual equipped with the Pick Nails. She meant business, and no one would stop her. "Omega, come on..." Omega nodded, following after her in heavy footsteps. Rouge grit her teeth as she thought to herself, her fists clenched tighter than ever before. _'Whoever you are, you won't get away with this...'_

* * *

Rouge: Let me guess, you don't know who that guy is yet...?

Me: How'd you guess?

Lan Hikari: #Waves his hand in the background and walks forward# You always seem to think up these guys last minute, huh?

Me: Yup.

Sonic: So are the rest of us gonna make a debut sometime?

Me: Most likely. I plan to incorporate every Sonic character from the games into this.

Knuckles: What about the Chaotix?

Me: ... eeehhhh...

Team Chaotix: What was that?!! #Gets ready to attack#

Me: OKAY OKAY!!! Jeez, I'll consider it!!! Anyhow, that's it for this chapter ladies and gents!!! See ya next one!!!


	2. Conditions

**Distant Shadows Chapter 2 – Conditions**

Me: #Lies back and sighs happily#

Cream: What are you so happy about, Mr. Death?

Me: Ah, nothin'. I've just been reading this one manga called "Comic Party" lately, and it's really inspired my artistic soul.

Cream and Cheese: #Look to each other# Eh...?

Me: Eh, it means I got a lot more ideas.

Amy Rose: #Sighs# I hope some of those ideas involve putting Sonic and me together...

Me: Maybe they do...

Amy Rose: REALLY?!!

Me: ... but it's not too likely.

Amy Rose: #Smacks Death with her Piko Piko Hammer and walks off#

Tails: That looks like it hurt...

Me: And that kiddies, is why you don't piss off a pink Hedgehog with a big hammer...

Rouge and Omega dashed through a forest near the coast, heading straight for Prison Island. It had been a long night for Rouge, having run non-stop. If not for Omega being a machine, it would have long since collapsed from exhaustion. Rouge panted heavily as she and the E-Series robot burst through the last line of trees, coming to a halt on a sandy beach. It was already 10 O'Clock in the evening. She had one hour to get to Prison Island. She dropped to one knee, holding her chest. "S... So how... are we gonna get over there, Omega...? I... I can't carry you that far... and unless you upgraded a rotor into your chassey, I'd say we're in a bind..." She stood up, dusting the sand off of the knee she was knelt upon, looking straight forward, still catching most of her breath.

Omega turned to the West, pointing straight forward. "The old bridge that linked Prison Island to the main land remains mostly intact. We may use it to cross over. Caution is advised, as some parts of it's structure have worn down from the explosion that leveled the island." Rouge smiled, walking forward, a little wobbly. "Heh. I guess Dr. Eggman loaded the data from the entire ARK incident into your memory, hm?" Omega nodded, moving forward with Rouge. "Yes. Dr. Eggman downloaded all of his past achievements, as well as his failures, into my database, so that I may analyze his adversaries and better annihilate them." Rouge nodded, then dropped to her hands and knees, her eyes shut tight. "Nnnn..."

Omega turned to her and activated a set of scanners built into it's eyes. It walked forward, looking down at Rouge. "Scans show that your body has taken much stress from running for the past 18 hours. Rest is advised." Rouge grit her teeth, trying to stand up on her own. "I... I can handle it..." She only managed to get onto one knee before she fell forward. _'Dammit... he's right, I do need rest... but if we stop, then we won't make it in time, and Shadow...'_ She blinked as her thoughts were interruped, feeling the sand leaving her body. She looked up, watching as Omega sat her on it's shoulder. "There is no time to waste. It is already 10:08 PM. ETA at Prison Island from this point at my maximum speed is 49 minutes." Rouge nodded, wrapping one arm around it's head, making sure she wouldn't fall off, but being careful not to block it's sight either. "Let's go!"

* * *

49 minutes later, Rouge and Omega reached Prison Island, just as Omega had calculated. Rouge had dozed off upon the robot's arm, her body recuperating from the exhausting 18 hour run. Omega looked to her, then shook her slightly. "We have arrived." Rouge's eyes fluttered open as she groaned, sitting up and stretching out with a slight yawn. She nodded, kicking her legs back and forth in the air. "Guess that nap did me good." She jumped down, landing on one knee. Her muscles ached like never before, but she would get over that with ease. She and Omega moved forward, coming to a halt as an ominous voice echoed throughout the ruins. "Hello, Ms. Rouge and E-123 Omega. It's a pleasure to see you all in good condition."

Rouge narrowed her eyes, looking around, murmuring to Omega. "Omega, do you see anything on your scanners...?" Omega's head turned a full 360 degrees, then came to a halt at Rouge. "Negative." The figure chuckled, appearing out of no where, wearing the same cloak he did on the video. He walked forward, his chuckling coming to a halt. "Now that you're done wasting your time with those pathetic scanners of yours, let's get down to business, shall we...?" Rouge turned her head, then her entire body, tensing up and getting into a fighting stance. "Here's my "business"! Return Shadow or I'll tear you to shreds!!!" She figure shook his head, holding out one of his hands, cloaked in black as well, and holding a remote. He pressed a button on the remote, causing a flash to appear between the two former members of Team Dark and himself.

As the flash died, an image was projected within what was now a floating, spherical hologram. Shadow was being held by his largest spike in mid-air by what looked to be one of Eggman's lower class robots from when Shadow, Omega and herself were a part of Team Dark, fighting against Metal Sonic. Rouge cupped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide. _'Sh... Shadow... Please be okay...'_ Shadow grit his teeth, opening his eyes and looking forward from his prison. From what he could tell by Rouge's expression, it was a two way communication. He growled, struggling a bit. "R... Rouge... don't buy... into any of his demands... I... I'd sooner die than... be used as a pawn... AAAUUUGGH!!!" Shadow fell limp, smoke rising from his back. The robot holding Shadow held up an electrified set of prongs, much like the ones that Chaos Gamma and it's copies had.

Rouge looked to the man, tears welling up at the edges of her eyes, her voice quaking with emotion. "Let him be...! I'll do whatever you say!!!" The figure smirked, nodding to the robots on screen. With this, they turned, walking to a wall in the background, quickly chaining Shadow up and standing at attention. The figure cut off the transmission, causing the sphere to disappear. "That's more like it. These are my conditions. As an expert Treasure Hunter, I'm sure you know how to find many lost artifacts and antiquities... I would like you to recover some for me. They're very special, a kind that you can't find anywhere else, and there is only one of each..." Rouge's ears lowered, just talk of these artifacts sending a horrible chill down her spine, and a knot into her gut. She nodded, crossing her arms beneath her breasts. "... name them and I'll get them..."

The figure chuckled, turning his back to her as he started to walk. "The first is called the Flame Pendant. My sources show that it's on Angel Island, but I don't know where exactly. That's up to you." He came to a stop, looking over his shoulder. "These are no ordinary treasures, mind you. They're very well guarded, as legend tells, and just finding where they are is a task in itself. This will just be a test for you before I send you for the other artifacts. You have two weeks to contact me with the Flame Pendant. If not... well, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks yourself..." The figure broke into a demonic laughter, vanishing into the air.

Rouge grit her teeth, dropping to her knees her head low as tears poured down her cheeks. "That bastard... that fucking bastard...!" Omega looked down to Rouge, then turned, looking South East. "Angel Island is approximately 1,387 miles due South East of our current position. Rouge nodded as she heard Omega, standing and sniffing a bit as she dried her tears on her glove. "Right... l... let's go then..." Rouge turned, walking towards the bridge as she became lost in her thoughts. _'Damn that man... I don't know who or what he is, but when we get Shadow back from him, all he'll be is dead...'_

Sonic: Geez, quite the mouth you put on her.

Me: Just don't let Cream hear it or her mom'll probably try to kick my ass left and right...

Amy Rose: Why does it have to be Rated R anyways?

Me: First, no PG-13 fic has a nude character in it, no matter what the circumstance. If anything, there's only rear-end nudity. Second, nothing to hold me back except for going into sexual relations, but, I don't really write stuff like that.

Knuckles: You probably could...

Me: There might be some things mentioned, but it'll be very light stuff, and not even very well detailed. Y'know, stuff like just undressing or whatnot.

Shadow: You're desperate, aren't you...?

Me: #Slams a ridiculously large mallet onto Shadow's skull and drives him into the ground like a tent stake# Not on your life!!!

Rouge: #Sweatdrops and sighs# And you're the last person I'd expect to say something that dumb...

Me: It's always the last thing you expect that happens. Anyhow, readers, that's it for this chapter! Catch ya next time!!!


	3. Confrontation

**Distant Shadows Chapter 3 – Confrontation**

Me: #Groans, rubbing his temples and sighing a bit#

Knuckles: What're you so stressed about?

Me: Well, I've learned the hard way that Rated R fics really don't get many reviews. #Points to the default rating filter# See? Rated R fics aren't shown unless you select them with the others. In short, I'm not getting many reviews at all.

Sonic: Hey, those're the breaks.

Me: Yeah, I know. #Sighs and cracks his knuckles# Well, I sure as Hell ain't gonna get more reviews just sittin' here. Time to get chapter 3 in gear!

There was movement throughout the hordes of Chao at the Estuary upon Angel Island. Many of the younger Chao were kept back by the older Dark, Hero, and Chaos Chao, while the oldest and most powerful stood at the water's edge, their eyes narrowed at a point halfway between the center of the Estuary and it's shore. Suddenly, the water at that spot began to ripple and rise. Two green eyes had appeared with at the head of the mass, accompanied by what looked to be a brain of a sort. This was Chaos 0, the Guardian of the Chao. Chaos stood firm, it's head hung low as a soft red glow pulsed within it's chest. Between each pulse, the silhouette of what seemed to be a pendant would show. Chaos raised it's head, it's eyes narrowed into a glare as it's body became engulfed in a red aura. As Chaos raised it's arm in the direction of the Chao, a water ball began to form. The Chao's eyes shot wide, and they immediately scattered, some carrying the young and infant Chao as they fled for safety. As they began to flee, Chaos' glared forward, it's eyes changing colors from Emerald Green to Blood Red as it launched a massive assault.

* * *

Only two days after their meeting with the black-cloaked figure, Rouge and Omega found themselves in a private jet that was specifically used for government officials and high-ranking government agents. Rouge, having done so much for the government in the past, even if that wasn't always her main intention, had "earned the privilege", as the President had told her when she asked. Omega stood by a window, it's metallic frame too large for any of the in the jet. Rouge sighed, going over some maps of Angel Island. She needed to find ruins that at least seemed to be a likely place where the Flame Pendant was resting.

Rouge groaned and stood up, pacing back and forth. Omega looked to her, not budging an inch. "You do not need to concern yourself with that map. I have the most detailed map of the Earth downloaded into my database." Rouge sighed, nodding. "I know that, Omega... But I just need to find something to take my mind off of all of this. Whenever I just sit and think about what that bastard could be doing to Shadow, I just want to destroy something... Omega, what should be our first course of action when we get to Angel Island" Omega looked out the window at the ocean below, speaking of a different subject. "Recommended actions upon arrival at Angel Island are to locate Knuckles the Echidna and request guidance through the ruins of the island for the Fire Pendant."

Rouge's eyes shot wide and she immediately fumed, stomping her foot down. "I am NOT asking that **_ECHIDNA_** for any help!!! I'd rather face off against Metal Sonic by myself!!!" Omega turned, walking to Rouge. "The Echidna is most likely to know about the structure of all ruins upon the island. My databases contain information on only several ruins upon the island." Rouge raised an eyebrow, sitting down. "And how many are there...?" Omega stood for a minute, processing data about the island's layout. As it finished, it began to walk towards the pilot's cabin on the Jet. "Over 50 ruins are estimated to be upon Angel Island. The several in my database would take one day each to search through in their entirety." Rouge just sat there, then sighed, lying back. "Fine... but only because we're on a time limit..."

* * *

Two hours later, the jet touched down on Angel Island. Rouge and Omega immediately disembarked and began to trek through Angel Island. Only 5 minutes in, Omega looked to Rouge. "What is our current destination?" Rouge sighed, her hands on her hips as she walked, her head low. She was irritated about having to ask Knuckles, but she would bear with it solely for Shadow's sake. "We're heading to the Master Emerald shrine on the center of the island. As far as I can gather, since Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald, he probably lives around that area." Omega nodded, continuing forward. Not 5 minutes later, they came to pass by the Estuary. Rouge at first hardly noticed anything, too concentrated on finding the Flame Pendant. But within seconds, she noticed something that not one person would ever expect to see.

There were at least 50 full grown Chao lying scattered around the Estuary's waters, unconscious and seriously injured. Some had burn marks all over their bodies, while others were soaking wet. Rouge rushed forward, her eyes wide as she saw this scene of carnage. She dropped to her knees by a Dark Chaos Chao and lifted it up, stunned by how horribly maimed it was. "Who could do such a thing...?" Omega scanned around the area, walking forward. It's chest cavity opened and revealed the same emerald that was used to restore Rouge. Omega handed the Emerald to Rouge and walked to the shore, it's eyes glowing furiously. "All Chao are alive, but in critical condition. Medical attention is highly recommended." Rouge nodded, using what she knew of Chaos Control to restore the energy and physical status of the Chao she cradled in her arms.

As she was healing the Chao, her ears twitched. She could hear movement within the brush around the Estuary. She stood up, her eyes narrowed. "Who's there?!!" From the brush, a red Echidna stepped forward, clenching his spiked gloves into tight fists. "Rouge!!! What're doing here?!! Did you do this to these Chao?!!" Rouge stood up, her eyes narrowed, still cradling the Dark Chaos Chao in her arms. "Omega and I came here looking for you and we found the Estuary like this... And if it's your stinking Emerald you're concerned about, forget it. I've got more important things to get from this island than a crummy jewel!!!"

Knuckles was stunned when he heard Rouge call the Master Emerald no more than a "crummy jewel". Either Rouge had been hit in the head, or something serious was going on that actually took priority over her treasure hunting. Knuckles walked forward, picking up a Nights Chao and sighing. "... fine, but I'm keeping my eye on you. We'll talk about what you need from me later, what happened here?" Rouge shook her head as the Dark Chaos Chao in her arms came to. It hugged onto her, shivering out of fear. Rouge shut her eyes and lowered her head, hugging it back. Something about this little Chao reminded her so much of Shadow. "I... I don't know... Like I said, the Estuary was like this..."

She opened her eyes slightly, looking up as she heard movement in the water. She saw a blood red glow beneath the surface that quickly built into a glaring light. From that light, a pillar of flames shot straight forward. "WATCH IT!!!", cried Rouge as she jumped forward, pushing herself, Knuckles, and the two Chao they held out of the way of the fiery blast. It quickly incinerated some of the trees that were behind them on contact. Rouge grit her teeth, looking at the water as a black cloud formed within it. The cloud rose and took the shape of Chaos 0, it's eyes an even more piercing shade of Blood Red than they were when the entire event began. Knuckles grit his teeth, noticing not only that, but a red gem that pulsed in Chaos' chest, barely protruding out of it's watery form. "What is that thing in Chaos' body...?!" Rouge narrowed her eyes, able to make out the faint silhouette of some string within the murky water which was now Chaos' form. "That's what I'm looking for... It's the Fire Pendant!!!"

Knuckles eyes shot wide as he heard the name of the gem. He looked to Rouge, his eyes narrowed. "How did you know about that?!!" Rouge looked to him, her eyes gazing sternly at him, but holding a shine of pain and sorrow. "That's what I'm here for, Knuckles... I'll explain why after I get it, but if we just keep standing here, Chaos is going to attack first. And somehow, I don't think that's going to make it any easier on us!!!" Rouge immediately charged forward, jumping up into the air and flipping forward, performing her Homing Kick. Chaos merely lifted one arm and sucked her leg into it. Rouge's eyes went wide as this happened, flying back as quickly as she could, but to no avail. _'Dammit!!! It's grip's too tight!!!'_

Chaos raised it's arm in the air, intending on slamming her head first into a large boulder just 3 feet beneath the surface. Just as the arm was straight up, a red, flaming ball shot straight through it, causing it to splash right into the water, releasing Rouge from the watery God's grip. She flew back, touching down on the shore and looking in the direction the projectile that freed her went. She blinked as she saw Knuckles standing in the water, steam rising up around his body. Straight across from him, Omega stood holding one arm in the air, aimed at Chaos. Rouge grinned a bit, looking to Chaos. "Thanks you guys." Knuckles got into a fighting stance, his eyes narrowed. "We're only working together to beat Chaos. After this, it's back to the same old thing, got it?" Rouge rolled her eyes, kneeling down. "Yeah, yeah, just attack it already!!!"

**To Be Continued...**

Me: That chapter came out really well.

Chaos 0: ...

Me: #Sighs and hands it a pen and waterproof paper#

Chaos 0: #Scribbles down on the paper and holds it up#

Me: "I'll kill you for making me harm the Chao I am sworn to protect, you pathetic, stupid human... No offense to the rest out there." ... Somehow, I'm starting to think that you don't like me.

Knuckles: #Rolls his eyes# No, Death, he's fallen madly in love with you. Of COURSE he doesn't like you that much!!!

Me: ... Meh. Anyhow, see you guys all next chapter!!!


	4. Ancient Legends

**Distant Shadows Chapter 4 – Fire Fight**

Me: #Flips through this month's Shonen Jump, grinning at the installment of Naruto within# Heheheheh, love this series...

Rouge: #Walks in, smoke rising from her currently ash covered body# ... Death... why are there GUN units outside your door...?

Me: I hate being bothered when I'm reading Manga, why? #Looks up and sweatdrops# Oh, that...

Rouge: ... #Snatches the Shonen Jump from him and tears it to shreds, then kicks him in the face and walks off# Moron...

Rouge stood at the shore, looking straight at Chaos' front, her eyes locked upon the Flame Pendant within Chaos' chest. Knuckles stood at the shore on the left of Chaos, in a fighting stance. As for Omega, it raised both arms from the shore to Chaos' left, it's Gatling Guns ready to fire. Chaos 0 stood still, it's now Crimson eyes scanning it's opponents. It slammed it's arms into the water, sending it's hands outward towards Rouge and Omega. Normally, this would go unnoticed, but due to Chaos' mass having gone from a translucent blue to a murky black, Rouge and Omega could see it coming. Omega jumped up in the air, firing it's guns at Chaos' head. The bullets merely passed through the beast and into the water. "Projectile attacks ineffective. Preparing for close range combat." Rouge jumped up in the air and slammed her foot onto Chaos' hand, then charged forward along it. For a watery beast, it was surprisingly solid. "GIVE ME THAT PENDANT, CHAOS!!!"

Knuckles jumped into the air and started to glide forward, drawing his fist back and slamming it into Chaos' head, knocking it back into the water. As it was knocked back, the arm Rouge was running along was thown into the air, sending her with it. Rouge beat her wings, glaring to Knuckles. "What did you do that for?! I had a clear shot?!!" Knuckles ignored Rouge, grabbing Chaos by the horn-like mass of water protruding out of the back of it's head. By doing so, he glided straight forward and threw Chaos onto dry land. "THAT'S why!!!"

As Knuckles splashed down in the water, Omega moved forward, drawing it's arm back and slamming it into Chaos' head, driving it's body into the ground. Omega stood there as Chaos lay motionless, turning and walking back to the shore. "Mission accomplished." Just as Omega said this, a blast of flames shot into it from behind, sending it flying into the water. Knuckles walked onto dry land, his eyes narrowed. "Chaos, as the guardian of the Master Emerald and Angel Island, I will stop you right here!!!" Knuckles jumped up in the air, spreading his arms and legs wide as he shut his eyes. From out of no where, an enormous slab of Granite slammed right into Chaos, sending it flying back in the air in flips. Chaos slammed it's feet into the ground, shooting it's left arm out at Knuckles and grabbing him by the chest. Chaos then raised it's arm into the air and slammed the Echidna down onto the ground with an enormous amount of force.

As Knuckles impacted with the ground, he spat up blood, his eyes wide. The possessed God's arm retracted as it walked forward, a ball of flames forming in it's right claw. Just as Chaos drew it's arm back to throw it, much like it's Air Chaos Shot, Rouge slammed into Chaos' head from above, knocking the watery being to the dirt. Rouge dropped down onto one knee and stood, rushing to Knuckles. "Hey, are you alright?!!" Knuckles forced himself up, gritting his teeth. "Y... yeah, I'll be fine..." Chaos had receded into just a puddle of water. Rouge sighed, looking at it. "Looks like it's finished... I'll get the pendant. That's probably what drove it to act like this..."

As Rouge knelt down and dipped her hand inside Chaos' water mass, her eyes shot wide. She gasped out as Chaos shot up and enveloped her, it's body mass expanding around her. Rouge grit her teeth, trying to swim out using her arms, legs, and wings, but to no avail. Knuckles stood up, his eyes narrowed. "CHAOS, NO!!! YOU'LL DROWN HER!!!" Chaos glared to Knuckles and shot it's arm forward, grasping the Echidna. It immediately started to tighten it's grip, attempting to crush the Guardian. Knuckles wriggled uselessly against Chaos' powerful grip, while Rouge tried to grab for the Fire Pendant. _'If... I can just get the pendant... maybe Chaos'll return to normal... and free us...'_ Rouge coughed, the last of her air escaped her lungs, filling them with water. Her vision began to blur as she grasped her throat, struggling weakly. _'N... no... I... I can't fail... Shadow...'_ With that, Rouge passed out, beginning to drown within Chaos' watery mass.

Knuckles' eyes went wide as he saw this. "ROOOUUGE!!!" He growled, his eyes gaining a powerful flame within as he burst from Chaos' grip and dove forward. He drew his fist back and spun around, performing the Megaton Hook in mid-air. This sent Chaos flying back, but still containing Rouge's limp form within. Chaos quickly got up and charged up an enormous ball of flames. Just as it was about to throw it, flames shot straight through it's own body, breaking it into no more than water droplets, leaving Rouge and the Flame Pendant lying on the ground. Omega stood at the shore, electricity sparking off it's body, it's arms held out as Flamethrowers. "Body damage at 78. Initiating repair mode." Knuckles looked to Omega, nodding softly in a manner to thank Omega.

He immediately rushed forward, kneeling by Rouge. "Rouge!!! Rouge, come on!!!" Knuckles pressed roughly on her stomach out of sheer panic, causing her to expel the water from her lungs. She took a gasp of air, panting and coughing as she came to. "J... jeez... did you have to be so rough...?" Knuckles chuckled, lying her down and moving over to the Flame Pendant. Rouge grit her teeth, propping herself up on her elbows. "I... still need that so... don't get any ideas, Echidna..." Knuckles grasped the pendant, looking to Rouge, and then glaring into the fiery jewel within. _'This thing... is a serious threat to everyone. Why would Rouge still want it after knowing what kind of damage it can do...?'_

* * *

An hour later, Rouge, Omega and Knuckles were at Knuckles' hut beside the shrine of the Master Emerald. Chaos had stayed behind, back to it's old self. It had to make amends to the Chao that it had so badly treated while possessed by the power of the pendant. Rouge grinned, feeling much better as she sat on a couch in the hut. "And here I thought that you practically ate your meals off that Emerald of yours." Knuckles moved to a large chair and sat down across from Rouge, his eyes narrowed as he set the Flame Pendant on a table beside him. "Rouge... You and Omega have my thanks for helping me stop Chaos and return it to normal, but I absolutely can't let you have the Flame Pendant." Rouge stood up quickly, her eyes narrowed. "WHAT?!! Look here, you stinking Echidna, I need that pendant!!!" Knuckles stood up just as quickly, stomping his right foot down. "AND WHAT COULD BE SO IMPORTANT THAT YOU RISK THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE PLANET?!!"

Rouge's ears lowered as she looked down, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. "..." Omega stood in a corner, it's eyes glowing as it began to speak. "We are on a mission to find this pendant, as well as all of it's matching pieces." Knuckles looked to Omega, the glare still in his eyes. "Why...?" Rouge grit her teeth, tears rolling down her cheeks. "... it's Shadow... he's being held hostage, and if we can't find all of these items, then..." Knuckles' eyes widened a little bit as he stood there. For someone to capture Shadow now that he could summon Chaos Control without even so much as an Emerald Shard, they had to be extremely powerful. Knuckles sighed, walking to a window and standing before it. "... the Flame Pendant and it's matching pieces are in Echidna Legend. I'd never thought anything about it other than it was a children's story until I saw it in Chaos... There are 8 items in all. A sword, breast plate, gauntlets, boots, shield, helmet, a cape, and of course, the Flame Pendant. Each of them represents a different element..."

Rouge stood there, her arms crossed. " I only know of 6 elements. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Forest, and Steel from the Chinese Elemental Table. Where do you get the other two...?" Knuckles sighed, leaning against the window. "The other two are Light and Darkness. Whatever items have the Light and Darkness powers, they are the two most powerful." Rouge looked up, sniffing a bit from the recent crying she had done. "... so you don't know what each of the items are exactly...?" Knuckles shook his head, walking back to his chair. "No. The only reason the Flame Pendant was known of was because it was supposedly locked away upon Angel Island. I'll bet anything Chaos found the pendant somewhere underground in the Estuary..."

Knuckles walked to the table he set the Flame Pendant on and walked to Rouge, holding it out to her. "... here, Shadow's life is in danger, and you'll need this..." Rouge blinked, then nodded, taking the pendant and walking to Omega. Omega's chest plate opened up and revealed a box. Rouge opened the box and set the pendant in gently, sighing as she shut the box and walked to the door. "Thanks, Knuckles... Omega and I will be careful of those items..." Knuckles nodded, walking forward and coming to a stop right behind Rouge. "Of course you're going to be careful. I'm coming along with you." Rouge blinked, looking over her shoulder. "I thought that you had to guard the Master Emerald." Knuckles nodded in response to this, grinning a bit. "I can ask Chaos to watch it for me. It sounds like you two are gonna need all the help that you can get. Besides, Chaos will understand." So, only moments later after heading back to the Estuary and convincing Chaos to watch the Master Emerald as well, Knuckles, Rouge, and Omega were off on the jet, heading back towards Prison Island where their next mission would await them.

Me: #Yawns and stretches out# That came well.

Rouge: I can't believe you're making Knuckles and I work together...

Knuckles: Seriously. If you think for one more second I'm gonna stick it out with her...

Me: #Sighs# You know, you guys whine a lot more than the Megaman.EXE cast...

Megaman.EXE cast: AMEN!!!

Me: #Blasts the lot of them and groans# Now, as I was saying, just deal with it. You'll be together for a looong time to come.

Rouge and Knuckles: #Glare to each other and quickly turn their backs# HMPH!!!

Me: #Sighs# Well, folks, I gotta try and get these two to put their differences behind 'em. See ya'll next chapter.


	5. Nightmare

**Distant Shadows Chapter 5 – Torment of the Soul**

Me: #Finishes Sonic Battle for about 4th time and sets his GBA SP down# Gotta love Shadow's story line.

Rouge: It's because it's so dark, I take it?

Me: Yeah. I just like things that're dark in nature. I find them fascinating.

Shadow: Explains why you were so quick to play on the Dark side in Sonic Adventure 2 Battle...

Me: Yeah, but I was disappointed at first when I had to play as Eggman. #Grimaces#

Rouge: But you got to Shadow and I anyway.

Me: Yeah, and lookin' back, Eggman's missions are actually pretty cool. #Whips out a cannon and gets trigger happy on the entire room# MWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

* * *

Rouge, Knuckles and Omega sat in the jet, their destination set for Prison Island. That was where they were to get all of their assignments. It was already well past Midnight as Knuckles sighed, looking over some books he had brought with him. Each of them had at least a page worth of information on the items that they were to gather, and any information was invaluable to the mission. At least, that's what he believed. Omega stood at one of the windows, as usual, looking over the sea, reflecting only the light of the Moon and Stars above. Rouge yawned, standing up from her seat. "I'm going back into the cabins for some sleep... Knuckles, you should get some, too. This isn't going to be easy." Knuckles nodded, looking up to Rouge. "I'm aware, but I've stayed up way longer guarding the Master Emerald. About a week on end before I passed out. I can handle one all-nighter..." Rouge rolled her eyes, turning her back to him and waving him off over her shoulder. "Suit yourself, but if I catch you using a part of your all-nighter to peek into my cabin, it's gonna be my Pick Nails up your ass."

Rouge sighed as she walked back to the cabins, her eyes only half open. She normally wasn't so harsh with her words as she was mere seconds ago, but she was exhausted from the earlier fight, and could hardly concentrate on anything else but getting Shadow back safely. As she entered her cabin, she shut and locked the door. Without hesitation, she walked to her bed and sat down, removing her boots and gloves. She sighed as she stood, unzipping the back of her suit and stepping out of it, her figure now only clothed by her panties. Almost immediatley after, she donned a black t-shirt that hung down at her knees. As soon as she'd finished preparing herself for bed, she simply fell back onto it, looking up at the ceiling, pondering to herself. Every minute she lay there felt like hours upon end, until finally, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Rouge groaned out as her eyes fluttered open. She had no idea how long she'd been out, but at this point had the rough idea it was time to get up. She stood up and looked to the ground, finding her battle outfit missing. She huffed a bit, walking to the closet. The only thing she found was dust. She growled, clenching her fists. "This is what I get for bringing that damned Echidna along... KNUCKLES!!!" Rouge stormed out of her room, slamming the door. As she pushed back the curtain that seperated the cabin from the sitting area, a bright light flashed out. She stood there, her eyes wide at what was before her. Hundreds of pieces of flaming debris lay before her, scattered over what appeared to be the ruins of Prison Island. She walked forward, being careful not to let her bare feet come down upon any extremely jagged, sharp, or hot objects. There was no sign of Knuckles, or of Omega. The only thing she found were her clothes, save for her gloves and Treasure Scope. She stood solemnly for a moment, looking around. She knelt down and sighs, removing her shirt and dressing into her form-fitting suit and boots. She began to walk through the debris, biting her bottom lip out of pure anxiety. 'I hope that they're alright...'

Rouge gasped out and fell back as something grasped her ankle. She looked down, finding a long dark appendage. Before she could even try and pry it off, she was pulled beneath the rubble within the time it would take to blink one's eye. Oddly enough, she was falling through a dark tunnel now. She grit her teeth, trying to expand her wings, but receiving no response. She looked to her back, gasping. Her wings had vanished, leaving not even scar marks upon her back. In mere seconds she slammed and sank beneath the surface of what seemed to be a pool of wet concrete. She gasped, her head and shoulders shooting up from the moist gray material. She coughed a bit as she began to regain her breath. There didn't seem to be any solid land in sight, but there was something happening. She was quickly losing mobility from her legs up. Just as the concrete solidified about her chest and her under arms, she lifted her arms quickly in an attempt to keep some way to dig herself out available.. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. She didn't even have time to open her mouth as the concrete solidified, even freezing her eyes half open. She gave out muffled cries against the now solid rock as she wriggled within her new shell

Her misfortunes didn't end there, though. She soon heard foot steps behind her, slowly growing louder. Within mere moments, a dark figure passed her. It was a hedgehog. There were no spines upon it's back, but the 5 upon it's head were strewn wildly out. The lowest two, most widely spread apart, were pointing straight into the air. The next two above it were each curving outward, away from the silhouette's body, while the single spike at the top center of it's head was curved like a hook toward's it's head. The figure turned, speaking in a male voice as blood red eyes with black irises gazed upon what seemed to be another being. "You have no chance against me..." The figure out of Rouge's line of sight spoke in a voice she recognized all but too well. "I won't let you use Rouge and Omega while I'm bait!!! I'd sooner die than forsake the promise I made to Maria 50 years ago!!!" Rouge's eyes would've shot open had she the capability. Unfortunately, she couldn't even manage to budge a finger. The figure chuckled, raising a claw-like glove. "Suit yourself, Shadow the Hedgehog..." Rouge watched helplessly as the figure charged forward, her ears, though covered in concrete was well, still capable to pick up the loud hum of Shadow's Air Shoes. Shadow came right into her line of vision just as the two clashed, both enveloped in an enormous wave of Chaos energy.

As the energy wave died, Shadow and the figure stood behind one another, totally still. It was silent for a moment before Shadow let out a sharp gasp. Immediately, he fell forward, his body splitting into 5 pieces cut through the sides, spilling his blood, organs and muscle tissue onto the floor, accompanied by bone mass in some places. The figure turned, walking forward and licking the blood off it's claws. "Damned Hedgehog... no matter, I can still use him..." The figure turned, looking to the stone silhouette of the bat girl in the ground, currently pouring tears out of what of the eyes was visible. Rouge sobbed uncontrollably, her breathing growing even more erratic between the combonation of her current state of hysteria, and the lack of capability for her ribs to expand and allow her lungs to take in the necessary air. The hedgehog figure walked forward into a faint light, revealing a totally dark gray form, wearing, aside from the blood stained, clawed gloves, a pair of black boots, belted tightly shut. The figure raised it's claw, grinning. "Die..." Rouge's eyes shot wide as the claw raised, immediately starting to scream at the top of her lungs, only to find herself muffled by the concrete and her shut mouth. This didn't stop her from trying, though. Immediately, the last thing she saw was the bloody claw flashing before her eyes, turning everything black.

* * *

Rouge lay in bed, kicking and screaming against her covers, her back arched as far into the air as it could possibly be. Knuckles and Omega rushed into the room, Knuckles hands and feet actually bare, revealing his hands, fingers, feet and toes to be as red as the rest of his body. He knelt down by Rouge, grasping her shoulders and shaking her as he began to call out. "ROUGE!!! ROUGE, WAKE UP!!! YOU'RE HAVING A NIGHTMARE!!!" Rouge slowly calmed down, her eyes opening slowly. Knuckles sighed, laying her back down. "Dammit Rouge... You even shook Omega out of sleep mode. PLEASE tell me you don't get like this often when you sleep, or it's gonna be a long journey..." Rouge grit her teeth, shooting up into a sitting position and wrapping her arms tightly around Knuckles neck, breaking down into sobs. Knuckles blushed heavily, pushing her back a bit, but keeping his hands gripped onto her shoulders. "Rouge... what was it that you dreamt...?"

After about a half hour of explaining, Knuckles sighed, crossing his arms. "... I don't know what that dream could've totally meant, but as far as I can tell, it may've been a premonition, or a message delivering us information about our enemy... You say he was a Hedgehog...?" Rouge nodded, hugging her knees to her chest as they remained beneath her covers. "Not at all like Sonic or Shadow... he was totally a dark gray, and he had blood red where the white of his eyes should've been, and total black where the pupils and irises were..." Knuckles nodded, leaning against a wall. Omega had been sent out of the room, Knuckles having assured him he could take it himself. Knuckles scratched his head a bit, then sighed once more. "As far as I can tell, maybe you being imprisoned in concrete represented you feeling trapped within yourself for an answer... I've seen a few things on Dream Interpretation, sometimes they just relay your worries to you and reveal your emotions. But I've also heard of dreams that tell of future events, so I'm not ruling out it could be the identity of our enemy... or..." Rouge nodded, standing up straight. "... I understand... Look, let's just go back to sleep..." Knuckles nodded, turning and walking out of Rouge's room without another word. Rouge just stood up straight, her head low as she now leaned against a wall. She wasn't about to go to sleep and have that horrible nightmare again, or risk having one that was even worse. "... Please, please don't let this come true... just let it be a nightmare..."

* * *

Me: #Cracks his neck side to side#

Shadow: That is REALLY disturbing, you know...

Me: Not half as disturbing as the sound of dice rolling through my knuckles, since they crack even when I make a fist.

Knuckles: Time for a change of subject. What took you so long with this chapter?! You had the body of it typed out 4 weeks ago!!!

Me: You REALLY wanna know?

Knuckles and Shadow: YES, DAMMIT, YES!!!

Me: Too lazy to do this part.

Knuckles and Shadow: #Sweatdrop and sigh# Moron...

Me: #Clubs them both with a mallet# Well, readers, sorry this chapter took so long to get out. But the next one'll be up as soon as I finish beating the living daylights outta these two smart asses here. Later!


	6. Seaside Battle, Part 1

**Distant Shadows Chapter 6 – Seaside Battle, Part 1**

* * *

Me: Ladies and gentlemen, the preview to this chapter will lack the usual slap-stick comedy for a special tribute to one Mr. Deem Bristow. Deem Bristow, as I'm sure many of you know, performed the voice of Dr. Eggman in every Sonic game since Sonic Adventure for the Sega Dreamcast. But on January 15th, 2005, any future Sonic games he would voice as Dr. Eggman in would have to do without him, for he died. I got word of this on a forum I'm a part of, called "The Fallout Shelter". It's sad that such a great voice actor died, but the Lord in Heaven found it to be his time, and he called him home. I'm sorry if this is sort of a downer, but this being a Sonic fanfic, I felt it my responsibility to pay tribute to him in it. With that said and done, I'll now begin Chapter 6 of my story.

* * *

Rouge, Omega and Knuckles sat silently in the government jet. They had just gotten through with their meeting with the cloaked figure. Rouge stood, her head leaned into one of the windows, her arms resting above her head against the plane wall. The entire meeting was still ringing in her head, right down to the last detail...

* * *

**_20 minutes ago:_**

The trio stood before the cloaked figure, each one's eyes narrowed into glares. The figure chuckled, holding a gloved hand out from one of the black cloak's sleeves, the fingertips shaped as sharp claws. "I can feel the pendant... Give it to me and you'll get your next assignment..." Rouge stood there, her eyes wide. The clawed hand was exactly like it was in her dream. She shook her head, dismissing at coincidence. Perhaps she'd seen his hand the first time they met, but in her concern, locked it away into her subconscious. _'It was just a dream... I've gotta get myself together...'_

Rouge sighed, reaching into a pouch hanging at her side. She threw the figure the Pendant, wrapped in a cloth. He snatched the pendant out of mid-air, unraveling the cloth and grinning at it's brilliant gleam in the light of the already rising Sun. "Very good... Your next assignment is to locate and bring me the Sea Greaves. They're a very special pair of boots, you see, and they'd just go wonderfully with this pendant..." Rouge growled, her eyes narrowed. "First I want proof that Shadow's still alive...!"

The figure chuckled, bringing out his other hand. "My, you're quite concerned about such a pathetic creature's well-being... That's what makes you the perfect Treasure Hunter for me... I know you won't fail. But if it's proof you want, then here you are." The figure snapped the fingers on his other hand, bringing up a sphere of light. Within it was the image of a cell, and in that cell, Shadow the Hedgehog sat, clenching and unclenching his fists anxiously. He stood, beginning to pace around his cell. Rouge stood still, shutting her eyes and nodding. "... that's enough for me..." The figure grinned on a manner far beyond the description of demonic.

He narrowed his eyes as he saw sunlight beginning to wash over his cloak and the lower half of his face. "This ends our meeting. Remember this, the Sea Greaves lie in wait for you at the far outskirts of Emerald Beach, due west of Emerald Town. Oh, and, Guardian... Knuckles, I believe it was... I forewarn you. Should you decide to try and rogue heroics, Shadow's life will come to an excruciatingly quick and painful end..." Knuckles narrowed his eyes, turning his back on the figure as he began to speak. "I'm here to help Rouge reclaim Shadow... If there's something that endangers Shadow's life, you can bet your ass on it I won't be the one to do it..." The figure grinned, shutting his eyes as he sank into his own shadow, vanishing from sight as if he were never there to begin with.

* * *

_**The Present Time:**_

Rouge growled as tears rolled down her cheeks, quaking as the rest against the window. Knuckles sighed as he watched this, looking out the window by his own seat, thinking to himself. _'The far outskirts of Emerald Beach, due West of Emerald Town... That's near where Cream, Gemerl and her mother, Vanilla, live... We'll have to be careful. If those boots possess someone, it could put their lives at serious risk...'

* * *

_

The jet touched down on Emerald Beach, about a half-hour by air from Emerald Town. Rouge, Knuckles and Omega stepped off the jet, beginning their search. Knuckles crossed his arms as they walked, his head low in thought. Rouge noticed this on the plane once she had calmed herself, looking over her shoulder at him. "What's on your mind, Red...?" Knuckles sighed, looking up and letting his arms fall to his sides. "Cream and her family live near here. They're in danger of either being possessed, or being injured by the whoever gets possessed..." Rouge sighed, looking straight forward. "You knew too, huh...?"

Knuckles nodded softly in response. "I'm surprised you knew, though... Didn't you normally have other things to do than concern yourself with our whereabouts?" Rouge grinned a bit, placing her hands on her hips. "Hey, I'm a Government Agent, remember? I like to keep tabs on you guys so I know just what kind of trouble you're gonna drag me into next." Omega came to a stop, turning and looking into a large collection of palm trees that lined the beach. "Extreme heat source detected. Large amounts of Carbon Monoxide and Methane gases located in the air. Trace elements of other materials found in gaseous form. The source eminating these readings is calculated to be a residential structure. Source is calculated to be one mile Northeast of current standpoint." Knuckles' eyes shot wide as he heard this, taking off in that very direction. Rouge grit her teeth, stepping forward and holding one hand out as if to try and stop him. "HEY! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU GOING!" Knuckles looked over his shoulder as he charged through the trees, hollering at the top of his lungs. "IF IT IS A HOUSE, CREAM'S IS THE ONLY ONE THIS FAR OUT ON EMERALD BEACH!" Rouge's eyes shot wide as she heard this, taking off after Knuckles. Omega was soon to follow.

* * *

Moments later, the three came to a halt. It was Cream's house, and it was lit ablaze. There were enormous holes all over the roof and through the walls 10 feet above the ground. Rouge stepped back, shaking her head. "Wh... what could have happened to cause this...?" Rouge blinked, her state of shock broken by the sounds of a child's voice. "Cream...? CREAM!" Rouge immediately took off in the directions the child's voice came from. Knuckles grit his teeth, giving chase to her to try and stop her. "WAIT! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS!" 

Not even thinking about the dangers, Rouge jumped and kicked the front door of the house down. The first thing that she saw was Cream, knelt by her mother's side, cradling her Chao, Cheese, in her arms. With a large, bleeding gash in her side and her clothes soaked and torn to Hell, she looked to be far from okay. "Mommy! Mommy, hold on!" Vanilla grit her teeth clutching her side with the gash. "C... Cream, get out of here... it's too dangerous... I... I can't protect you if Gemerl attacks again..." Rouge's eyes shot wide as she heard Gemerl being described as the attacker. She rushed forward, her eyes narrowed seriously. "Hey, both of you, we're getting out of here!" Cream blinked, turning her head to see Rouge kneeling beside Vanilla. "Ms. Rouge, you came to save us!" Rouge nodded, looking down at Vanilla. "Cream, I'll get your mother out, you get out of here before this place collapses!" Cream nodded weakly, standing up and rushing out the door. Rouge grasped one of Vanilla's arms and stood with her. "Let's go..."

Just as Rouge took her first step with Vanilla, a column of water shot towards her. Just as it came within 10 feet of her, though, Knuckles jumped infront of it. With a loud cry, he drew his fist back and slammed it straight forward at full power into the column, splitting it in 10 different directions. He looked over his shoulder to Rouge. "Get outta here now!" Rouge stood there, a bit stunned by his act of bravery and strength, but she quickly shook it off and rushed with Vanilla out the door as quickly as she could without hurting her anymore. Knuckles, in the mean time, burrowed under the ground to avoid a second column of water.

Rouge lay Vanilla down about 30 feet from the house, her eyes narrowed. "You said Gemerl did this. Why would he!" Vanilla shook her head, looking straight up at the sky. "I... don't know... Cream, Cheese and I were at the beach with him... He found them lying in the surf and brought them to us. The next thing we knew, he was attacking us... We got into the house and tried to lock him out, but then all of these pillars of water shot at us... One of them slammed head on into me and pushed me into a piece of sheet metal that had been knocked loose by all the blasts... The next thing I knew, the water heater was hit, and the house was up in flames... And then you showed up..." Rouge narrowed her eyes, looking over her shoulder as she murmured to herself. "Damn... the Sea Greaves already found someone to possess... Omega!"

Omega had been concentrating on scanning the area for threats. Oddly enough, even with the attacks, it's sensors had picked up nothing. It turned to Rouge and dashed over as it's name was called, coming to a stop. "What is the matter?" Rouge stood up, a glare on her face. "Take Vanilla to the hospital in Emerald Town! She needs medical attention! Knuckles and I will stay here and deal with the Sea Greaves!" Omega nodded, kneeling down and lifting Vanilla up, cradling the Rabbit woman in his arms. Without a word, he took off at top speed.

It was just at that moment Knuckles crashed through the back of the burning house, soaking wet. Rouge looked forward, only to see Gemerl walking forward. The Sea Greaves were worn tightly around it's metallic feet as it walked, it's eyes blood red, just as Chaos' were. Rouge growled, getting into a fighting stance. "C'mon, Gemerl! Let's go!"

**To Be Continued...

* * *

**

Me: That was one LONG chapter...

Sonic: What was the idea with injuring Vanilla so badly?

Me: For one, every battle has casualties in some form or another.

Cream: Y... you mean Mommy's gonna die...! #Immediately breaks down and cries, burying her face in her hands#

Me: H-Hey! I never said that! It was mostly for dramatic effect and to help add onto the story!

Rouge: I don't think she's listening...

Me: Sighs Well, ladies and gents, that's it for this chapter. I'll try and explain the difference between out of story and in story to the kid to calm her down... See ya'll next chapter!


	7. Seaside Battle, Part 2

**Distant Shadows Chapter 7 – Seaside Battle, Part 2**

Me: #Sighs a bit, drumming his fingers on his desk#

Rouge: Thinking again?

Me: Yep...

Rouge: Well it's at least good your writing again. Seriously, you've been holding off a lot of your art-related stuff lately.

Me: I know, but I just haven't been in the mood...

Shadow: Well get back in it. The chapter's starting.

* * *

Rouge cried out as she charged forward, taking to the air above Gemerl. Gemerl merely looked up at her, watching her go into a spin as she dove at it feet first. Just as Rouge came within Gemerl's reach, the robot's right arm shot up, grabbing her left ankle firmly, causing Rouge's rotations to come to an abrupt halt. Not even giving Rouge time to think, Gemerl slammed her down hard into the sand. It tightened it's grip around her ankle as it continued to raise her up and slam her down, waiting to feel the satisfying crunch of her bones within it's grasp. Rouge cried out as she was slammed down a fifth time, her eyes wide in pain brought on not only by the slams, but the increasing pressure on her ankle. She desperately tried to pull free, but to no avail. Just as she felt the ankle would snap, a fist made contact with Gemerl's head, sending the robot flying, and causing it to release Rouge's ankle. Rouge grit her teeth, sitting up as she spat some blood out of her mouth. It was Knuckles who had saved her.

"I had it under control...", she scoffed to the red warrior. Knuckles rolled his eyes as Rouge spoke this words, crossing his arms. "Yeah, I could tell by the way Gemerl swung you like a rag doll.", said the Echidna in very cynical tone. Rouge glared to Knuckles, then attempted to stand. Unfortunately, an attempt was all she could manage. As she put weight on her left foot, a massive surge of pain shot through her leg. She yelped slightly, dropping back down onto the sand on her bottom. She groaned, rubbing the ankle with only her right eye open. "Dammit... it must've gotten twisted when he stopped my Drill Dive..." Knuckles slammed his right fist into his left hand, watching as Gemerl emerged from a pile of rocks it had slammed into at top speed. "All the more reason for you to stay out of this. I'll handle it from here."

Knuckles charged forward, eminating a fierce battle cry as he did so. Knuckles drew his right fist back as soon as he was in range of Gemerl, then thrust forward. The robot merely raised one hand, catching Knuckles' punch with ease. The Echidna's eyes shot wide in shock for a second, but he immediately regained his senses, bringing his other fist forward. Again, Gemerl caught the attack. Knuckles growled, trying to pull his fists from the mechanical beast's grip. "Let... go... of... ME!" He gave a sharp cry and jumped up, swinging his legs forward and slamming them into Gemerl's jaw. The force of the impact knocked Gemerl back and caused it to drop Knuckles' fists. Knuckles immediately took the offensive, charging forward and dealing blow after blow with a speed incomparable to any he'd ever used before. Dents and cracks were left in the metallic warrior's frame before Knuckles' right fist became engulfed in flames. The guardian drew back the flaming fist and drove it downward, turning it up sharply and slamming it into Gemerl's jaw. The artificial life form flew high into the air before it came crashing down, slamming hard into the sand upon the coastline.

Knuckles panted heavily, leaning forward, his hands grasping his knees. Beads of sweat rolled off of his brow as an intense look remained on his face. He stood firm for a moment, regaining his breath, not taking his eyes off Gemerl even long enough to blink. Rouge sat still, her eyes narrowed seriously. 'That was way too easy...', she thought to herself. She looked to Knuckles, the glare loosening into a look of concern. "Are you alright...?", she asked him meekly. Knuckles nodded, not even looking to her. He then stood up straight, walking forward. His right fist was drawn back, ready to thrust forward at the first sign of movement from the machine. Knuckles just stood there as he finally came before Emerl. The robot's eyes flickered on and off, it's body giving the occassional twitch, but not enough movement to alert Knuckles. Knuckles looked down at the River Greaves and knelt, watching a black aura appear around them. 'Could this be...?', were his thoughts as he reached forward. He hesitated, sensing a great darkness within the aura. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see Gemerl's damage beginning to vanish as metal refused together to hide any cracks, and the frame expanded to remove all dents.

Knuckles remained knelt by the robotic figure, thinking hard for a second. He then remembered something from the tale of the 6 items he had been told as a child. He shut his eyes, pressing his hands down onto the Greaves, one upon each. He shut his eyes, his dreadlocks lifting up into the air as a white aura surrounded him. As the aura appeared, his eyes opened slightly, glowing white as well. His voice echoed as he began to speak in a deathly serious tone. "Spirits of the future, present and past, come forth and reveal yourselves. Upon the contract bound by the blood of the Guardians, I summon your power. Vanquish the evil within this item, and return it to it's true power!" As he finished, the white aura lept from his body and into the greaves, swirling together with the black aura rising from them. As the auras clashed and combined, they vanished, leaving the greaves upon Gemerl's metallic feet.

Rouge sat still, wide-eyed and mouth agape. She knew that Knuckles had known a few things involving the Chaos and Master Emeralds, but spells to drive out evil auras? This had far more than just thrown her for a loop. She watched the Echidna as he remained still for a moment. Then, without warning, he collapsed forward over the machine man's legs. Rouge gasped as she saw this, forcing herself to her feet, despite the pain. "Knuckles!", she cried out as she jumped up on her good foot and took flight. She touched down gently and knelt beside Knuckles, ignoring any pain she felt in doing so. She lifted Knuckles up and rolled him over, shaking him a bit. "Dammit, Knuckles, wake up!", she hollared out. Knuckles groaned, reaching up with his right hand and resting it over his eyes. "Keep it down, Bat Girl..." Rouge sighed, narrowing her eyes at him. "You stupid Echidna... Well, at least you're alright, I guess..." She pushed Knuckles over and off Gemerl, letting him just drop on the ground. Knuckles landed face first, greeted by a mouthful of sand which he quickly spat out. He shot up into a sitting position, glaring at Rouge. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!", he bellowed. He blinked, watching as Rouge hugged onto the Greaves which she'd so quickly removed from Gemerl's feet. She sighed, thinking to herself, lost within her own little world. 'Only 4 left... Shadow, just hold on...'

* * *

Rouge, Omega, Knuckles, and Cream stood in Vanilla's hospital room by her bedside. Rouge sighed, rubbing the back of her head, her eyes downcast towards the tile floor. "We're very sorry for the trouble that this item has caused you, Ms. Rabbit.", she said in a solemn tone. Vanilla shook her head, smiling as she lie back in bed. "It's really quite alright. You couldn't have known that of all places it would show up on the beach by our house... Is Gemerl alright now?", asked the kind Rabbit woman. Knuckles nodded firmly, his arms at his sides. "Yes. Before the Greaves were removed, they restored his system of the damage we inflicted. He should be back to normal once he wakes up." Cream looked down, tears in her eyes, sniffling every now and then. Vanilla looked to her daughter, then sat up, ignoring a slight jolt of pain in her side where the gash was. "Cream, dear, what's the matter...?", she asked in a concerned tone. Cream looked up, her tears breaking loose of her eyes and running down her cheeks. "I... I couldn't do anything to protect you, Mommy... I was just too afraid to do anything good... I'm so sorry..."

Vanilla sighed, leaning down and picking her daughter up, bringing her to sit on the bed beside her. "Cream, you don't have to be sad... You stayed by my side in all of the madness, and that's very brave...", she stated in her most gentle tone. Cream looked up at her mother, sniffing once more. "... really, Mommy...?" Vanilla gave a gentle nod, brushing the remnants of Cream's tears away with her index finger. "But, please dear, the next time I ask you to leave, please do. Especially under those circumstances... Even if something were to happen to me, you're my baby girl, and I could never forgive myself if you came to harm... So please, promise me, alright?" Cream sniffed, then nodded, embracing her mother gently, careful of the wound she knew remained in Vanilla's side. "Yes, Mommy... I love you so much..." Vanilla smiled gently, gently stroking her daughter's head as she embraced her. "I love you too, Cream..."

* * *

Rouge sighed as she, Omega and Knuckles walked out of the hospital towards the edge of town. She sniffed a bit, a smile gracing her lips. Knuckles looked back, raising an eyebrow to her. "You okay?", he asked loosely. Rouge nodded, placing her hands on her hips as she looked down towards the sidewalk. "Yeah... I guess that was just really touching back there...", she stated in a soft voice. Knuckles blinked, then grinned, chuckling a bit. "Well, isn't that cute? Rouge can get emotional over cute things!", he remarked snidely. Rouge's eyes shot wide as she heard this, lifting her gaze and glaring, practically steaming out of her ears. "SHUT THE HELL UP! At least I don't fall for every trick that Eggman lays on the road!" Knuckles twitched, coming to a halt and fully turning to face Rouge, holding his fist up. "He's crafty, alright!", he spat out to Rouge. Rouge scoffed a bit at this, turning her head away. "Tch, yeah, to any 5-year-old maybe..." She blinked, hearing footsteps coming from behind their group. She turned to see Cream running towards them with Cheese flying close behind. "Miss Rouge! Mr. Knuckles! Mr. Omega! Wait, please!", she cried out at the top of her lungs.

Rouge turned, looking to Omega. "Omega, hold still for a minute!" The robot came to a halt where it was, already well over 30 feet infront of the Echidna and Bat. Rouge walked to Cream, watching as she came to a stop, meeting her with the same action. "What's up, kid?" Cream smiled a bit, pulling on two backpack straps hanging off over her shoulders. "I, I want to come with you! I'm sure I could do something to help you out!", she exclaimed with great hope in her voice. Rouge sighed, her ears lowering. She knelt down, putting her hands on Cream's shoulders, her voice in a dark, serious tone as she began to speak. "Cream... you're a sweet kid, and I'm grateful you want to help us... but what we're doing is really dangerous, even more than Metal Sonic or Eggman was..." She blinked, hearing a growl behind her. She looked to see Knuckles holding his gut, blushing at the tan points upon his muzzle. "Eheheheh... we haven't had much to eat lately after all...", stated the embarrassed Echidna. Rouge sighed, shaking her head. "Keep the thing under control, Knuckles. We'll get some Fast Food or something on the way back..." Cream blinked, then smiled, jumping up and down. "That's what I can do! I could cook you guys meals!" Rouge blinked, her gaze shifting to the young girl. Cheese bounced up and down in the air behind Cream, crying out hopefully and excitedly. Cream cupped her hands together, looking at Rouge hopefully. "Please, Ms. Rouge? I really want to be of some assistance...!" Rouge sighed at the young girl's pleas. She shook her head, smiling a bit. "Only if you get permission from your mother..." Cream smiled, nodding. "I already did, Ms. Rouge!" Rouge smiled gently, standing up and patting the Rabbit girl on the head. "Then welcome to the group..."

* * *

Rouge: It's about damned time you finished this!

Me: Aw, put a lid on it... #Groans, rubbing his temples#

Shadow: What's your problem...?

Me: I dunno, just a bit of a headache, I guess...

Tails: What could have caused that?

Me: #Glares to Amy with her Piko Piko Hammer, then sighs, rolling his eyes a bit# I have absolutely no idea... Well, readers, that's it for this chapter. Hopefully I'll get back in the saddle more often with this. Until next time, take care!


	8. Looking Back

**Distant Shadows Chapter 8 - Looking Back**

Rouge: Well, he **_FINALLY_** shows up! What's been keeping you for the last two months!

Me: Writer's block, Bat Brain...

Amy Rose: Must be a really bad case, huh...?

Me: Yep... #Sigh# I'm still not sure on anything for this chapter.

Sonic: Ah, you'll do fine... I think.

Me: Yeah, thanks a WHOOLE lot there, Hedgehog. #Just drops into his seat and gets to work#

* * *

Rouge and Knuckles met each other in the hall on the government jet the next morning. Both of them were wearing their morning faces, neither in the mood to even take a shot at the other with the slightest of smart alleck remarks. Rouge just turned, walking to the Conference Room with a loud yawn, Knuckles following closely behind. Both came to a halt just before the curtain that divided the Conference Room and the Sleeping Quarters, catching an extremely pleasant scent wafting through the air. Rouge reached forward and pushed the curtain aside, she and the Echidna's eyes shooting open at the site before them. On the tables, there were waffles, eggs, pancakes, sausage, bacon, milk, and orange juice. 

Not 5 seconds after they caught first glance upon their meal, Cream walked out of the kitchen with Cheese following her. She blinked, catching Rouge and Knuckles out the corner of her eye. "Oh, good morning Ms. Rouge, good morning Mr. Knuckles! Did you sleep well?", asked the young girl. Rouge and Knuckles nodded slowly as they fully walked into the Conference Room. "Cream... did you make all of this by yourself?", asked the Bat girl, still dumbfounded by what lie upon the tables. Cream giggled a bit, looking to Cheese. "Well, I had Cheese to help me out. Mommy began teaching me to cook about two years ago, and Cheese decided to help out along the way." Rouge nodded softly, smiling and kneeling down. She placed her right hand upon the child's head and rubbed a little bit between her ears in a manner one would expect an older sibling to do. "Well, I'm very impressed."

* * *

Within an hour, Rouge, Knuckles, Cream and Cheese had cleaned off all of their plates. Of course, Rouge and Knuckles had done most of the eating, seeing as to how they hadn't had a decent meal in a couple weeks. Omega had come out about a half hour ago, fully recharged. Knuckles leaned back in his seat, arms crossed behind his head. "Man, that was great. I'm sure glad we let you come along, Cream.", he stated with great satisfaction. Cream smiled, bowing her head a little. "Thank you, Mr. Knuckles! I'm glad that I can help out!", the rabbit girl excitedly replied. Rouge smiled, sitting in a booth at one corner of the table near the wall. Her left leg was crossed over her right, her foot dangling in mid-air. One arm lay stretched out along the back of the booth's bench while the other held a glass of ice water, the base of the glass resting within her palm, her fingers wrapped about the sides. "I've gotta agree. It was delicious.", she said in a soft tone. She took a small sip of her water, then set the glass down on the table. "Omega, how long until we reach the Prison Island ruins?", she asked, her gaze shifting to the E-100 unit standing at one of the windows. 

Omega quickly calculated their current geographic coordinates, and Prison Island's coordinates. It's eyes glowed softly as it then considered their flight speed, and the distance between the two points. "ETA to Prison Island is 3 hours, 27 minutes, and 52.8 seconds.", said Omega in it's usually mechanical voice. Rouge blinked, then sighed, nodding. "Thank you, Omega." Knuckles sat up straight in his chair, leaning onto the table. "Well, we've got 3 and a half hours to kill and nothing else to do, so what would you guys suggest we talk about?", inquired the red Echidna. Rouge blinked as Knuckles suggested this, a bit stunned. A grin then slipped across her lips. "Wait, YOU, of all people, are actually suggesting we talk about something? Whatever happened to the ever-mighty and oh-so-silent, and ever-so-easily duped guardian of Angel Island?", she inquired in a teasing tone. Knuckles huffed a bit, leaning back and crossing his arms. "Hey, I have my moments, alright?", he said in a slightly frustrated tone. "Despite how few they may be, I suppose...", she murmured under her breath.

Cream had just then returned from the kitchen after placing all the dishes in the sink, save for Rouge's glass of water. She'd overheard the conversation, mostly due to the fact of how acute her hearing was. "Well, if we're looking for something to talk about, how about we talk about ourselves? We could learn about each others' lives before we all met. I'm sure that would be a great way to spend the time.", suggested the girl. Rouge and Knuckles nodded to one of another without a moment's hesitation. "Sounds like a good idea to me.", Rouge said quite plainly. Knuckles once again leaned forward onto the table. "Sure, let's do it. I think we should start with Rouge first." Rouge looked to him, taken by surprise. "Why don't you go first?", she retorted. Knuckles rolled his eyes, waving one hand idly in the air. "Hey, I prefer to listen more than I talk. Besides, of all of us, you're the one who keeps the lowest profile, so it only makes sense we get to know more about you first.", he said in a slightly serious tone. Rouge sighed a bit, shaking her head with a very light smile. "Alright, alright. You win... Well... I suppose that it all really started back when I was about 3-years-old."

Rouge sighed as she began to speak, a bit of a serious look coming to her face. "At age 3, I was orphaned. My parents had both caught a virus that at the time had no cure. It was relatively new to the medical world. I think you guys can figure out what happened to them...", she spoke in a slightly downcast tone. "Once I was in the orphanage, things went downhill a little bit at a time. I wasn't exactly the kindest or most social little girl there, and a few of my adoptive parents returned me. I may have been young, but my parents were always very honest with me, I remember that, and they explained a lot to me at 3-years-old, including the nature of death. That's why I was so cold towards others, I suppose..."

Knuckles just sat there, kind of shocked. He was feeling guilty for making Rouge talk about such matters. "Um, Rouge... if this is making you uncomfortable at all...", he said in his most gentle tone. She shook her head in response, her light smile returning to her face. "Thanks for caring, but, it's not that big of a deal... Anyhow, as I was saying..."

* * *

Three hours passed relatively quickly. None of them had expected such a long and detailed, yet still emotional story from the normally so discreet young woman that they'd come to know. Cream had been brought to tears at a few parts, which required Rouge to comfort her, feeling that it was her responsibility to treat her as a little sister since she decided to tag along. Rouge went over how she'd learned to be a thief from her last adoptive parents, who at the time were the most notorious duo around. She explained how she'd lost them to the Mobian Government after they were arrested for breaking into a museum in attempts to steal a priceless Egyptian artifact. She learned from the mistakes of her parents though, and went to work inside the government as one of their top spies, giving her access to most anything available in their computer databases. 

Cream and Cheese sat beside Rouge as she finished her story, silent and in deep thought. Knuckles sighed, looking at the table. "... I'm sorry that I made you say all that, Rouge...", he muttered. Rouge blinked, then shook her head, waving her hand in the air idly. "No, no, it's alright. Really, it's not that big of a deal to me. I've made out pretty well for myself after all. I'm a Government Spy, and the owner of the fanciest club in all of Night Babylon. And thanks to you guys, I've had my fair share of excitement.", she claimed in a non-chalant tone. As she finished, Omega turned to face them for the first time all day. "ETA to Prison Island 25 minutes, 12.0 seconds. It is recommended that any preparations be completed within remaining time of flight." Rouge nodded, looking to Cream and Cheese. "Sorry if that story kinda bummed you out, kid.", she said in her gentlest voice. Cream smiled, shaking her head. "It's alright, Ms. Rouge. I'm happy I was able to learn that much more about you from this...", she chimed.

Rouge nodded, smiling as she slid out from the booth on the other side. "I'm going to get the Grieves...", she stated as she walked into the Sleeping Quarters. Her smile quickly faded as she turned into her room, shutting the door behind her. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she leaned against a wall on her side, her arms embracing her own body for comfort. She had never opened up that part of herself, and to let old wounds like that come up again really did hurt. But she was an agent, and she had been trained to hide her emotions as all are. She wouldn't ever let anyone know that was one of the things that cut her deepest. "Shadow...", she said, looking at the carpeted floor, "... I won't lose you like I did my parents... I'll get every last one of these items and bring you home safely..."

* * *

Knuckles: So what held you up THIS time? 

Me: Oh, nothing much. Just school, art work, comics, spriting, a massive computer virus, y'know, that kinda crap.

Rouge: Just been getting everything from all sides, huh?

Me: Yyyyup.

Shadow: Hmph. Well, hopefully you'll be able to get to chapter 9 before May...

Me: #Grins# We're just gonna have to see, won't we? Don't worry tho', folks. I do intend to at least get another couple chapters started up this month. Hope ya enjoyed this chapter!


	9. The Puzzle of Darkness

**Distant Shadows Chapter 9 - Puzzle of Darkness**

Me: #Currently getting the snot beat out of him#

Rouge: I THOUGHT you said to these readers you wouldn't be working on other stories until you finished the one you were working on!

Me: I know I did, but I had too many ideas and I needed to clear my thoughts! So sue me, I shouldn'ta said it to even begin with!

Knuckles: That's not even it! You posted that thing one day, and within the next 4, they already had 5 chapters up!

Syaoron and Sakura: #Whistle innocently and scoot off screen to safety#

Me: #Twitches a bit and sits up# Can I help it if my focuses tend to slip elsewhere...?

Shadow: All I know is, you'd best get on with this before they decide to go to an extreme...

Me: Oh, come on now, Shadow. What could they POSSIBLY do worse than this!

Rouge: File a lawsuit for copyright infringement and using even the mention of Sega characters without the permission of Yuji Naka...

Me: **OKAY THEN!** Who wants to see Chapter 9 go up, eh?

* * *

Rouge groaned a bit, riding on Omega's shoulder as their party trudged on through the Mystic Cave Zone. It had been almost three days since they had entered the caverns in search of their next artifact, the Shadow Cape. The problem was, they had reached the Mystic Caves after just one day. For the past two, they'd been wandering around on foot with no food, and hardly any water. Rouge, who had been over-enthusiastic in the beginning, had already worn herself out.

Knuckles chuckled a bit, harassing her about it for about the 50th time. "'I'm a Bat', you said, 'We do well in caves', you said. 'Finding the Shadow Cape here won't take us more than a day!', you sa---"

**"ENOUGH ALREADY, YOU JACKASS!"**, hollered Rouge at the top of her lungs, shaking the very foundation of the cave walls.

Knuckles just sat there, dumbstruck as he thought to himself. _'Man, for being so worn out, she's still got a powerful set of lungs on her...'_

Rouge sighed a bit, shaking her head. "I can't believe that not even Omega has a full map of this place... And wouldn't you know the cape would have to be in the part of the cavern that was uncharted..."

Knuckles nodded a bit, a grimace on his face. "That's what most people tend to call "Murphy's Law in action"..." Rouge and Knuckles sighed in unison as this thought pounded down upon them.

Omega came to a halt, it's head spinning quickly to the right. "Abnormal energy signature detected. Abnormal energy signature detected. Examination of energy signature highly recommended."

Rouge blinked a bit, sitting up on Omega's shoulder. "Looks like Murphy's Law may've just gotten one good swift kick in the ass. How far is it from our current position, Omega?"

Omega's right hand raised, pointing due South in the cavern. "500 yards to the South."

Rouge grinned a bit, jumping off Omega's shoulder, feeling a whole new burst of energy rushing through her veins. "Well, you heard the 'bot, let's go!"

With that, the trio took off in the direction of the energy signature. They made good time, reaching the location of the emination within about 13 minutes. What they came to a stop at, though, was not what they had thought it would be. The Shadow Cape wasn't before them. Instead, there was a colossal door, standing well over 4 stories tall. Made of pure Marble, with Onyx handles and Jade plates lining the rims of the door, it was truly a sight to behold. The two organics stood in awe, far beyond shocked and amazed by what was before them. Omega, though, merely chronicled their path and the door's location and graphic image into it's database.

Rouge groaned a bit, her hands resting on her hips as her head sulked. "Damn... how the Hell are we going to get through that...?"

Knuckles crossed his arms, walking towards the door slowly. "There must be some kind of switch or trigger to open the door. Come on you two, let's get to looking."

Rouge rolled her eyes, nodding as she began in direction opposite to that of the one Knuckles was going. Omega, in the meantime, decided to take a closer look at the door. It's eyes began to glow as it scanned the surface, beginning to analyze it's structural composition and reliability. It walked forward until it was directly before the enormous structure, standing totally still as it gazed upon it.

Rouge looked over her shoulder from her crouched position by a wall, gazing at Omega briefly. "Hey, Omega! Have you found anything yet!"

At the call of it's name, Omega broke from it's analysis temporarily, it's head turning to face Rouge. "Negative."

Rouge shifted her gaze to Knuckles without a second thought. "Hey, Knuckles! What about you!"

The Echidna shook his head, bracing his Knuclaws and sneakers against the wall, prepared to scour it. "Nothing down here. I'm gonna head uptop."

Rouge groaned a bit, shaking her head. "This may take a bit..."

* * *

"A bit" was an understatement. For the next four hours, the trio searched every nook and cranny, turned over every stone and pebble, and there was naught that even vaguely resembled a switch or trigger that may open the door. Rouge, a great deal frustrated by now, held her head as she stomped her boots repeatedly into the ground, creating deep cracks that would extend with each impact of her heel. **"AAAAUGH! WHY THE HELL IS THIS TAKING SO LONG!"**, she hollered at the top of her lungs.

Knuckles rubbed his head, trying to tune out the screeching Bat Girl's frustrated cries as they echoed through-out the cavern. "I don't get it, there's not a switch or device to be found... how are we going to open this thing? Omega, haven't you been able to figure anything out about this?"

Omega stood solemnly, still gazing at the door. "Negative. The structural composition is unknown, and I am incapable of calculating what era this door was erected in. There are no signs of any trigger, switch, or other form of activation mechanism anywhere within range of my scanners."

Rouge sighed, just falling down onto the ground, landing on her butt. Her head sulked as her arms just lay at her sides, hands on the ground "This is absolutely hopeless... I can understand **Knuckles** not finding anything, but I'm the best treasure hunter on the planet! If I can't find it, then no one can!"

Knuckles twitched a bit as he heard Rouge's remark, glaring at her as he glanced over his shoulder. "I beg your pardon...?"

Rouge sighed, looking at Knuckles cynically. "Well, it's true. Remember, I DID break into Prison Island and steal the Chaos Emeralds, and I'm the one who found Shadow and Omega..."

Knuckles grit his teeth, crossing his arms as he began to tap his foot impatiently, growing quite irritated with the Bat Girl. "Yeah, but if I recollect correctly from what you said a while back, wasn't it Shadow who saved your ass after you got locked in the Vault after taking down that GUN unit...?" Rouge winced as she heard this. He'd hit the nail right on the head. Knuckles chuckled, a smug grin coming across his face. "I, on the other hand, have never had to rely on someone to rescue me."

Rouge rolled her eyes, waving a hand idly in the air. "Yeah right. I heard about what happened from Cream when her Mother was kidnapped. Eggman caught you and put you in one of his machines, and Sonic had to bail you out." Knuckles' body jerked as she spoke these words, harshly refreshing his memory of that horrid event in the Egg Saucer. "Th-that was..."

Rouge grinned, lying back as she stretched out on the cave floor, coming to the conclusion that they may as well take a break for a bit. This, though, was quite the stroke of luck for the trio. As she lay out, she could feel the ground shift where she'd cracked it, followed soon by a small piece popping out to create a hole in the ground. A dark light immediately shined forth from the open spot, visible to all three currently present. The attentions of the treasure hunters shot to it's source, the cracked floor where Rouge had stomped moments ago. They just gazed at it a moment before Rouge got onto her knees, beginning to tear away hastily at the loose floor. In mere seconds, an Amethyst panel was revealed beneath the floor. The three, by this time, had already grouped around it. Rouge remained on her hands and knees, gazing at the panel as an inscription came into view. She squinted her eyes, trying to comprehend the language of the inscription.

After a moment, she sighed, shaking her head. "It's no good. I've never seen a written language like this before in my life..."

Knuckles knelt down to get his own view of the mysterious text inscribed upon the continuously glowing panel. His gaze was locked on it for about three minutes before it finally struck him. "I know this language...!"

Rouge raised an eyebrow, her back turned to the Echidna. "Oh? How could YOU know it? I'm the government agent, after all..."

Knuckles' gaze remained locked on the panel as he took in Rouge's remark. "It's an ancient Echidna text. One that your government's goons couldn't figure out if the translations themselves came and bit them on the nose."

Rouge grumbled a little bit as she heard this, her ears twitching furiously. "Just read the damned thing already..."

Knuckles grinned a bit, savoring the fact that he could use this to his advantage if the chance ever came up under less serious circumstances. He cleared his throat, then began to read off the panel. " 'An artifact of Darkness dwells beyond these gates. Great power is granted to he who lays hands upon it, for he will be cloaked to the eyes of the Living, and gain access to the realm of the Damned. Only he who emerges from the Trial of the Mind shall be granted the honor of donning upon himself the artifact of Darkness. All who fail will forever be condemned, cast into the shadows which they so greatly desired to control.' "

Rouge, skeptical about such things, rolled her eyes at the threat. "Probably has as much danger behind it as all those threats of curses in the Pyramids...", she muttered softly.

It was just barely audible to Knuckles, though, and thus brought him to lift his gaze from the tablet to meet with the Bat Girl's face, glaring intensely at her. "I'd think twice about what you said if I were you, Rouge. Considering what we've seen already, you should know better...", he grimly stated.

Rouge heaved a heavy sigh, averting her gaze from the Echidna's glare. "Look, does it say how to start this trial or not...?"

Knuckles nodded, clearing away a few extra chunks of the floor that remained over the part of the panel describing the process to activate the trial. " 'Should anyone choose to attempt the trial, step forth twelve paces from this point. Announce yourself to the God of Darkness, Havoc, and stand firm, for once the trial begins, the only escape is by succeeding the test. Only one, and no more, may enter the trial. Comrades attempting to venture with he who accepts the trial shall immediately be cast into the shadows.' "

Rouge stood firm as Omega registered the panel's image and the vocal translation into it's databanks. Knuckles gazed up at them, an adamant look within his eyes. "I'll go first..."

Rouge, as if on cue, clocked Knuckles right on the top of his skull with her fist.

"**WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!"**, hollered the now infuriated Echidna as he gripped his skull with his right hand, trying to quell the pain.

"There is no way in Hell you're going in there. First off, you're an idiot. If there are tricks or traps in there you'll probably be the first to fall right into them. Second, I'm a Bat. And being the trial of **DARKNESS**, I can use my Sonar to guide me through. More likely than not it'll be pitch black in there, and you'd trip over everything that wasn't stuck to the wall or the ceiling. Finally, I AM the world's top treasure hunter. So anything in there, I could handle far better than you."

Knuckles growled, standing up as he held his fist up to Rouge's face. "You're just ASKING for a fight, Bat Girl!"

Rouge rolled her eyes, remaining calm. She gazed out the corner of her eyes to Omega. "Restrain him."

Immediately, Omega jetted forward, wrapping it's arms about Knuckles' body, lifting the Echidna right off the ground. Knuckles struggled and kicked wildly, hollering at the top of his lungs. **"ROUGE, I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS FOR THIS!"**

Rouge sighed a bit as she ignored Knuckles' frustrated cries, taking the twelve paces towards the door from the panel, as specified by the instructions the Echidna read aloud. She sighed gently, shutting her eyes as she hesitated a moment, losing herself in a brief thought. _'Sorry I had to say all that, Knuckles, but this is my mission. I appreciate the help, but... I have to do this myself.'_ Once she had cleared her mind of this, she stood upright, her posture perfect and totally solid. **_"God of Darkness, Havoc! I, Rouge the Bat, Treasure Hunter Extraordinaire, will accept the challenge of the Trial of the Mind!"_** Her voice echoed throughout the cavern as she called out to this Havoc. Knuckles was totally silent by now, unable to find his voice or the desire to struggle anymore, his eyes just fixated upon Rouge. Omega stood firm, as always, it's own eyes also locked upon Rouge. A moment passed, then two. Nothing came. Finally, at the end of the third moment, as Rouge was about to move, a dark light shot from the panel with the inscription upon it. The light collided with Rouge's body and spread around her, totally enveloping her body in a non-transparent Violet and Black aura. Her silhouette fell to the floor, lifeless. Wasting no time at this site, Omega and Knuckles quickly rushed to her body to check upon her.

* * *

Though her body remained with Knuckles and Omega, her soul was elsewhere. Rouge's eyes fluttered open as she lay in darkness. She groaned out, trying to lift herself, but she found it impossible to move anything but her head. _'Wh... what just happened to me...?'_, she pondered to herself,'_I remember I was going to take the Trial of the Mind, but... then everything went black...'_ She attempted movement again, and again she would find it futile. As she regained more of her senses, she found her arms chained apart above her head, each one at an angle. As she tried moving her legs, she found them to be chained in the same manner. What baffled her was that there seemed to be nothing around to fasten her to. Not a floor, wall, a rack, anything. She sighed, then continued struggling. For a half hour she would continue to no avail. She groaned out, letting her head just dangle back over her shoulders. "Trial of the Mind my ass... Maybe we should've just come back to the door with a few hundred pounds of dynamite..." She blinked a bit, snapping from her little whine session as foot steps became audible. She lifted her head, looking infront of her. Walking towards her was a black silhouette. The silhouette itself was even darker than the rest of the area, which she had a hard time comprehending as it was already pitch black. As it grew closer, she could clearly see the silhouette to be that of an Echidna with glowing yellow eyes. There were no details to be found, save for what looked to be a ponytail within it's dreadlocks. Within seconds, the figure came to a stop before Rouge, gazing at her.

"**_You are the one who dares to attempt the Trial of the Mind...?"_**, hissed the figure in a feminine voice. As these words crossed it's lips, it's body came further into detail. Her body remained black, but a light tan muzzle, the same as Knuckles', came into view with full red lips. The yellow glow of the eyes faded into the pupils as long eyelashes came into view. Upon her dreadlocks were diagnol white stripes that spiraled up towards her skull. She wore no gloves, revealing scars upon the backs of her hands that ran up to her arms. Her feet were also bare, but unlike her arms, scarless. The only article of clothing she wore was a dark brown leather top, no doubt the hide of some slain animal. **_'A mere Bat Girl dares take the mighty Echidnian Trial of the Mind... Tch, just another soul to add to the Netherworld, I suppose..."_**

Rouge flared up as she heard this, but remained silent. A strong defiance was evident within her eyes as she glared powerfully towards the female. "Just who the Hell are you anyways...?"

The female Echidna smirked slightly, her arms crossed beneath her breasts. **_"I am the Goddess of Darkness, Havoc. I will be administering the trial upon your soul..."_**

Rouge just gawked at her for a moment, then snapped to attention. "Wait, wait, wait, it said **GOD** on that tablet out there, as in you're supposed to be male! How can **YOU** be the God of Darkness when you're not even a guy!"

Havoc raised an eyebrow and turned her back to the Bat Girl, waving a hand through the darkness. A light formed and gave an image of the tablet. She examined it closely, then sighed, looking to Rouge. **_"The panel is damaged. There is a hole upon the text where the characters to create the word 'Goddess' should be... No matter, it shall be fixed as soon as I deal with you... Are you prepared for the trial...?"_**

Rouge nodded without missing a beat. "Bring it on..." By this time, she was braced for anything. She would save Shadow no matter what the risk, no matter what the cost. She would not condemn him by fearing one measely challenge.

The Goddess snickered a bit, uncrossing her arms and placing her hands upon her hips. **_"Your Trial will be a riddle, but be warned, it is far from simple. No one has yet come to discover it's answer. Be ready, for here it is..."_**

_**"What is it that belongs to you, but others use it more then yourself?"**_

Rouge narrowed her eyes. Although this was definitely a short riddle, it was difficult. She sighed, shutting her eyes as she began to think. _'What belongs to me, but is used more by others than myself, huh...? Ugh, why do I feel that the answer should be so simple...?'_

**_"Oh, I nearly forgot. There has to be a fair amount of risk to something such as this..."_**, said the Black Echidna, clapping her hands together twice as she spoke. Immediately, another chain shot out and wrapped around Rouge's neck. She gasped as it tightened around her throat, cutting her air off slightly. **_"You shall have 5 minutes to answer. As each second passes, the chain will grow tighter and tighter. When time runs out, one of two things will happen. If you are lucky, the chain will snap your neck, and you will die instantly. If not, you will slowly die from asphyxiation. Your time begins now..."_** The Echidna gave a sadistic grin as she sat cross legged upon the ground, hands in her lap.

Rouge could see that Havoc was confident she wouldn't pass the test, and that she'd be killed by the ever-tightening chains. She winced a bit as they pulled into her neck.

_'Great. A REAL big advantage I've got here... time to figure this out before I'm choked to death...!'

* * *

_

Back in the Mystic Caves, Knuckles and Omega remained knelt by Rouge. Knuckles' eyes were narrowed into a worried glare, cast upon the Bat Girl's face. "I can't believe she didn't let me do it... At least if I did it she wouldn't be in this mess..."

Omega, in the meantime, was analyzing the field, just as it had been for the past half hour. It's scanners finally deactivated as it shifted it's glowing red gaze to Knuckles. "Analysis of field has failed. There are far too many types of radiation waves to decode and classify. Any further analysis would overload circuits and result in a complete system meltdown for this unit."

Knuckles sighed a bit as he continued to look at Rouge, more worry in his eyes than anything. Although he had plenty of contempt for her, he did care about her well-being a great deal. "I just hope she can succeed..."

* * *

It had already been four minutes, and things were looking bleak for the Bat Girl. Rouge coughed a bit as her vision began to blur over. She had failed to figure out the answer yet, and time was running out. _'Clothes...? No, no... not that either... damn, only seconds left...'_ She cried out a bit as the chains tightened further. She could feel her windpipe being crushed as she struggled in vain against the chains.

Havoc smirked, standing from the floor just to head toward Rouge. She reached her right hand up and let it come to rest upon Rouge's cheek. **_"Hmhmhm... You know... I think I will preserve your corpse for myself... Maybe a shell to dwell in the next time I decide to visit the Mortal Realm... It's really quite lovely."_**

Rouge grit her teeth, trying to recoil from Havoc's touch. Unfortunately, as the restraint grew tighter, her mobility was cut off. She had less than 20 seconds left. Rouge gave a weak cry as she felt the chain cutting into her flesh, drawing blood that ran down across her chest. Finally, right out of the blue, it struck her. The answer to the riddle. She opened her mouth in an attempt to speak, but was unable to find her voice with less than 10 seconds remaining.

Havoc smirked as Rouge tried to speak. A last minute attempt at an answer, she'd seen this hundreds of times before. **_"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."_**

Rouge's eyes shot wide as the chain snapped back, pulling her fully into the board. She felt a sharp pain in her neck, but she was still alive. Her windpipe was totally slammed shut by the pressure of the chain. She writhed in agony, her body slowly starting to go numb as the pressure in her skull began to build. "A... a... a..."

Havoc smiled, flicking one of her loose dreadlocks back over her shoulder. **_"You were fun, Bat Girl... now, good bye..."_** With these words, she turned, walking back towards whence she came.

"N... a... me...", choked out a dying Rouge with every ounce of energy she had.

Havoc came to a dead halt, not even 10 feet from the now unconscious Bat Girl. She stood solemn, her eyes narrowed into a glare, fists clenched tightly. **_"... no one... has ever figured it out before... No one has ever discovered the answer was your own name..."_** She gazed over her shoulder, watching as Rouge's body twitched against the chains. She was dying quickly. Havoc grit her teeth, then waved a hand through the air, sending a bright flash through out the area.

* * *

Back in the Mystic Caves, the aura around Rouge totally disappated, and the Bat Girl lie limp on the ground, not even breathing. Knuckles sat there upon his knees, waiting for a moment, his teeth grit. "... Rouge, please..."

Not a minute after he said these words, Rouge gasped, arching her back as her eyes widened fully. She coughed and clutched her throat in both hands, sitting up quickly as she grasped her throat. As she continued regain her breath, she spoke between hoarse coughs. "Wh... what happened... t... to me...?"

Knuckles sighed heavily, his smile full of relief. "Apparently, you stupid Bat... you just passed the Trial... " His attention was brought away from Rouge by a loud glow, followed by an explosion. It was the door. It had crashed down upon itself, sending gravel and dust flying everywhere as far as the eyes of the three travelers could see. Knuckles looked to Rouge, nodding softly. "You stay here and rest, I'll go in and get the Cape..." With that, Knuckles quickly rose to his feet, dashing towards the now open pathway for the Shadow Cape.

As Omega left Rouge's side to check for any abnormalities in the air, Rouge could feel something lying on her lap. She looked down, finding a small, black sphere that seemed to glow of a black and violet light. The Bat Girl grasped it, finding four words upon it written in the modern language spoken by all Mobians. The words were etchy and sloppy, nearly impossible to read. Within a moment, though, she deciphered them with a gentle smile.

_**"Well done Bat Girl"

* * *

**_

Me: Well, I'm proud of myself for this particular chapter!

Rouge: And it only took you a whole month...

Me: I've had a lot to do...

Shadow: Like what?

Me: Catch up with a lot of video games, watch DVDs and the WWE, read manga, go to school, go to WORK, play Referee to a lot of shit happening between my online friends, and fix up this new laptop. Oh yeah, and get help from my friend Chris with the riddle for this chapter.

Knuckles: ... maybe you should cut some things from your schedule...?

Me: Bah, Summer's comin' up anyway, relax Knuckle-Head. Anywho folks, sorry it took so damned long. I HOPE I do better this time in posting faster. Hope you enjoyed it, and catch ya later!


	10. Identity Revealed

**Distant Shadows Chapter 10 - Identity Revealed**

Rouge: So does this mean that...?

Me: Yep.

Knuckles: You ACTUALLY thought this out?

Me: #Grimaces# Hey, I don't wing EVERYTHING I do ya know... just... the vast majority of it.

Shadow: Well if it keeps you from leaving us in Fan Fiction Limbo, I'm up for it...

Sonic: Same here.

Tails: Yeah, let's get this chapter started already!

Amy: BEFORE we have to beat you into the ground again!

Me: #Grumbles under his breath as he begins to type# I'm gonna call the exterminator on these pests before this chapter's over, I know it...

* * *

The cloaked figure who had been holding Shadow captive sat solemnly upon a throne-like seat within the depths of Prison Island. Formerly the Warden's office, it was now his work room. He drummed his clawed fingers idly on the arms of his chair, sending hollow "thunks" eminating through the room. He had been sitting and waiting for what seemed to be days, although it had merely been a few hours. Crimson eyes gazed forth towards the office door as it opened without warning, an E-Series unit marching forward towards the desk. The figure stood from his seat, the cloak falling back past his arms, revealing the front of his figure to be covered with well-kept silver fur. "I hope you've come good news upon our studies of the black Hedgehog...?"

The E-Unit stood firmly as it's mechanical voice chimed in response to it's current master's question. "Affirmative. Although analysis is not complete, the nature of the organic known as Shadow and it's ability to manipulate Chaos energies is becoming more evident to us with each passing hour. Estimated time for completion is undeterminable, but we have hopes that they will be completed within the next month and a half."

The figure grimaced slightly under the cloak as he walked past the E-Unit, brown leather boots setting down gracefully upon the cold concrete with each step. "Hmph... well done then. Continue with your research, and keep me posted if there are any new developments..." As the silvery figure left the room and passed into the hallway, he heaved a stress-filled sigh, cracking his knuckles by merely making fists. "This is taking far longer than I had originally predicted... I'm most definitely going to have to make things more complicated for Rouge and her allies. I cannot allow them to take this buffoon back before I take his secrets for my own. I need those Chaos energies to bring my plans to fruition..." He continued on down the hall, coming to a stop at a heavily-plated steel door. With a smirk accompanied by a soft chuckle, his entire figure darkened to a pitch black form as he sank into his shadow on the floor. "Perhaps it's time that I payed a visit to my 'comrade'..."

* * *

Shadow lay still on what looked to be an operating table, half conscious and horribly beaten. Cables and wires were attached and plugged into his skin as his pulse and heart rate were monitered. Through a tube in his arm he was given nutrients, but only enough to keep him alive. Four individual E-Units marched around the room, checking up on computer components and read-outs on charts. Shadow had been locked up like this for longer than he cared to think about now, and the thought of being nothing more than a Lab Rat for a sick freak like his captor filled him with pure disgust and hatred. His wrists, ankles and waist had been buckled to the table by steel clamps, making for a well-constructed means to keep him from freely moving about as he pleased. _'Tch, that bastard... the instant I get free of these accursed shackles I'm going to tear his throat out...!'_

As if on cue, his captor seemed to fall from the ceiling, landing softly upon his feet. He chuckled softly at the image of his specimen lying helplessly upon the table as he was studied by the machines in the room, walking slowly towards the table. "So, how are things for my favorite science experiment...?"

Shadow growled angrily and began to thrash in his bindings. The mere sight of this accursed creature sickened him, and to be addressed in such a condescending manner only made his hatred and rage boil further. "I'd watch your mouth. The instant I'm free of these bonds, I'll tear you limb from limb...!"

The figure raised one of his clawed hands to his own face, brushing his fingers across his chin. "Hehehehe. Interesting as that may be, **'friend'**, I don't have time to get into such a scuffle with the likes of you... But I must say, your friends are quite the trackers. Within this month they've found two of the objects that have eluded me for over three years. Truly, your little girlfriend and her Chrome Comrade are very efficient as a team... Why, even the Guardian of Angel Island and some prissy little Rabbit girl have joined their brigade."

Shadow could easily tell who the other two were, having had his run-ins with them as well. The Guardian, Knuckles, was of no concern. The black Hedgehog was confident that if the Echidna could protect an entire island, finding some lost artifacts would be no trouble. What baffled him was the Rabbit girl, Cream. Despite her spectacular fighting abilities with her Chao, Cheese, she was still only a child of 6 years. Why Rouge would let Cream tag along was beyond him, but he trusted her judgement, the judgement of the Bat girl who had protected and aided him on multiple occassions.

The figure chortled softly, looming directly over Shadow, observing him as he thought. "Well, well, you've grown silent... Normally this would be the point you'd have burnt out all your energy struggling against the shackles..."

Shadow grinned lightly as his captor's words snapped him from his thoughts. "Well, it's been a while since you last came down here, so I've had time to think... and gather my strength...", he proudly claimed, tightening his hands into fists as a light violet energy gathered around them. "After all, why should I struggle when I can just blow this room **sky high!**"

The figure's eyes shot wide as Shadow's body became enveloped in a powerful violet aura. His first reaction was to incapacitate Shadow to save himself any unnecessary damage to his base. But as he raised his fist, he came to a halt, smirking softly. _'What better way to examine Chaos energies than in live action...?'_ With that, the figure faded back into the shadows, observing silently.

Shadow had noticed his captor vanish from sight, but wasn't in the least concerned at that point. His first priority was to free himself, and as his energy peaked, he would do just that. **"CHAOS NIGHTMARE!"** As these words were shouted past his lips, the aura about his body concentrated into a single, tiny ball upon his chest, immediately firing outward into an immensely powerful dome of Chaotic energies, far greater than any he had created in the past. Although unknown to him due to the stroke of Amnesia he had suffered before Rouge rediscovered him in one of Eggman's storage units, the energy released in this attack was second only to the energy he had used with that blue Hedgehog, Sonic, to transport the Space Colony ARK from it's collision course with Earth long ago.

* * *

As the dome of violet light faded, Shadow stood in the middle of the crater, panting heavily as he supported his body upon one arm and one knee. He would be able to walk in a moment, as soon as the feeling returned to his legs. A slight spell of nausia came over him, but he quickly shook it off, regaining his strength to stand upright as he did so. Silently, he gazed around, holding his head in his right hand. A large chunk of the underground had been torn away by the tremendous amounts of power he released. Everything within the range of the dome was incinerated, leaving not even the tiniest shard of glass. The dome's limits were clearly visible upon the structure of the building beneath the ground, as concrete pillars and walls stood now as half-arches. The black Hedgehog chuckled softly, shaking his head as he gazed skyward at the point where the dome had peaked, leaving a large gap in the ceiling above. Although the skies were black, faint traces of light could be seen within the clouds draping over it. Individual rain drops pelted his fur ruthlessly as lightning struck far off in the distance. With a heavy sigh, a smirk came across his lips, finding relief in his first contact with the outside world in over a month.

This was short-lived, though, as a clawed hand shot up from the ground and slammed right into his spine, sending him flying upward before his body could even register what had occured. From that point where the claw emerged, the figure of Shadow's captor followed in a flash, zooming skyward to intercept his prey._'That Hedgehog is powerful, but it looks as though he burned up most of his power with that blast... too bad, I was hoping for an interesting fight...'_

Shadow quickly regained his composure and flipped in the air, activating his Jet Skates at full power. It had been ages since he'd used them to float in mid-air with, but he was far from unfamiliar with the technique. Shadow charged forward and slammed head-on into his attacker. Though this move sent the assailant crashing into the ground, it knocked the black Hedgehog off his balance, sending him to the muddy earth below just the same. It took him a moment to regain his senses, working sheerly off of his will to free himself. But as he gazed up, he found the figure who had attacked and captured him, his cloak covered in mud and drenched with water.

"Arrogant little bastard...", he spat out as his hand shot forward, snatching Shadow by the skull and lifting him up off the ground. A grin crossed his lips as he stood there, tightening his grip, digging his claws into Shadow's skull and temples. "I'll make you pay for disrespecting me in such a manner..."

Shadow growled in pain as he attempted to pull himself free of the figure's grip. Finally, it struck him. Digging deep into his body, he summoned the last of his Chaos energies, concentrating them into his right hand. By this time, streaks of blood were leaking down his skull, and his vision was beginning to blur. He knew this shot had to count. "R... **ROAMING CHAOS!**" Shadow snapped his fingers right in the figure's face, sending a point blank blast of every bit of Chaotic energy within his body right into his captor. A blinding flash then spread, illuminating an enormous section of Prison Island.

* * *

At this time, Rouge, Omega, and Knuckles had landed and began their trek towards the usual meeting place. The entire party came to a halt, though, as an enormous violet flash expanded outward on a far corner of the island. Rouge gazed to Knuckles, gritting her teeth. "C... could that be...?"

Before Knuckles could reply, Omega's jets had activated and lifted it off the ground. "Massive amounts of Chaotic energies detected due Southwest of current location. Likelihood of energies eminating from Shadow the Hedgehog is currently 68.53."

Rouge narrowed her eyes as she heard this, immediately dashing forward. "That's more than enough for me, let's get going!" She wasn't going to waste anytime. If that truly was Shadow, it may have turned out he needed her help, and that was more than enough to send her forward.

As Omega jetted off after the currently pumped-up Bat girl, Knuckles stood there, dumb founded. Between the flash of light and the upstart it had brought for Rouge, he was left dumbfounded as to how he always got himself in such situations when he could have led a quiet life on the island, guarding the Master Emerald until he passed the legacy on to his own offspring, if that time would ever come. With a heavy sigh, he rushed forward after the two, grumbling softly under his breath.

* * *

Shadow coughed up blood as he lay on the ground, exhausted from that enormous amount of energy. Facedown in the mud and barely breathing, he was far from what one could call "in fair shape". A large plume of smoke was rising into the sky behind him, swirling in the winds and rain above. He was only barely conscious, tempted to lose himself in sleep. At that very instant, though, a familiar voice came across his ears. **"SHADOW!"**, it called from behind him. It was feminine, full of concern, but at the same time, a great deal of joy. Mustering what little physical strength his aching muscles retained, he turned his head, watching as a pair of white boots with pink hearts and metallic heels came closer with each and every step. As he raised his eyes, the figure became more and more familiar, finally stopping at the face of the one who had remained loyal to him through Hell and High Water. It was Rouge, followed soon after by Omega and Knuckles. He smirked softly as he thought to himself. _'Heh... I can't believe how stubborn they are... and I have to say, I've never been happier that they're just that..."_

Rouge dropped to her knees, sliding in the mud until she came to a direct halt before Shadow. She lifted his upperbody into her arms and clutched him close, tears rushing down her cheeks. "Oh, Shadow! It's you, I can't believe it! How did you get out! And you're so horribly beaten, oh my God, we have to get you to a doctor!" Rouge, needless to say, was in hysterics, overjoyed by the fact she finally had Shadow safely in her arms, but at the same time concerned about his current state.

Shadow smiled softly, shutting his eyes as he lay against her. "... th... thanks, Rouge...", he muttered breathlessly, and almost inaudibly. If not for Rouge's extremely acute hearing, of course.

She smiled, drying her tears on her glove as she sniffed. "What'm I crying for...? You're safe, I should be just fine..."

Knuckles smiled gently, his eyes shut as he stood still. "Take it easy, Rouge... he's had a hard time. Let's get him home and give him some rest. Omega, could you help him to the plane...?"

Omega nodded, walking forward towards Shadow and Rouge. It knelt down and lifted the exhausted and beaten black Hedgehog into it's arms, turning silently to make it's way back to the plane. It was finally over...

... or so it seemed for that moment. A dark laugh emerged from the smoke, sending chills down Shadow's spine. This seemed enough to scare him into being fully conscious. "N... n... no... i... it... can't be...!"

**_"Oh, but it is, Shadow the Hedgehog... did you REALLY think that I would fall to your pathetic attempts!"_** In a flash, Rouge, found herself facedown in the mud with a set of bloody claw marks across her back, running diagonally from her her waistline to her shoulder. Soon after came Knuckles, his coming vertically up his abdomen and chest. Omega was the final, straight across between it's mechanical shoulder joints. Shadow was found instantly to be held in the air by the back of his throat, unconscious from what appeared to be a swift punch to the face. The figure holding Shadow was his assailant, unveiled. A fully silver Hedgehog with brown, leather boots embroidered with black crosses enveloped in flames upon each side. His free gray-gloved hand with clawed fingers was clutched into fist as the other remained upon the nape of Shadow's neck. Upon his back and head, there was no spine that remained symmetrical with any other. Each one was randomly pointing in it's own direction, some crossing with one another, some never meeting, varying between curved and straightened. The Retinas of his eyes, which most would assume to be white on any other creature, were pure black, the Irises within a bloody shade of crimson. With a demonic grin, he stepped forward, not once loosening his grip upon his prey. He raised his free hand, summoning the Shadow Cape from one of the chambers within Omega's frame using his own abilities to manipulate the darkness. He clutched it and continued on, coming to a stop beside Rouge. "Well, seeing as my entire body has finally been revealed, I may as well give my full introduction... my name is Abaddon, and I am far from done with you and your allies yet..."

* * *

Me: ... okay, this is creepy. You haven't beaten the piss outta me yet and I took a month, again...

Rouge: It gets old. Besides, I'm sure the readers get tired of seeing the author get the Hell beat outta him every time, too...

Me: Yeah, beatin' a dead Horse and all, huh...?

Knuckles: Yyyyep.

Sonic: Curious, when am I going to show up in this fan fiction...?

Tails: Don't forget me!

Amy Rose: Me too!

Me: #Groans as the rest of the cast of the Sonic series begins to pester him, then sighs# I MAKE NO PROMISES ON YOUR TIME IN THIS FIC, OKAY! NOW SIT'CHER ASSES DOWN BEFORE I MAKE THIS A CROSSOVER AND REPLACE EVERY LAST ONE OF YA!

The rest of the unused cast: #Grumbles and resumes previous activities to occupy themselves#

Me: #Yawns and falls back out of his chair# Alright folks, I'm sure there'll be another Sonic character comin' in next chapter, and considerin' the rest of my life doesn't get in my way, along with exhaustion, this one won't take as long...

Rouge: You say that every damned time, you know...

Me: Hey, I'll mean it ONE of these times I say it, and I'm sincerely hopin' it's this one. Anywho, readers, sorry about this takin' so long. Catch ya in the next chapter!


	11. Secret of Eight Items

**Distant Shadows Chapter 11 - Secret of Eight Items**

Me: YES! I'm already workin' on Chapter 11 and I just posted 10 right now!

Rouge: In other words we'll be waiting another month. #Flips through a Women's magazine#

Shadow: #Battles with Sonic on Soul Calibur 2 on the Gamecube# That sounds about right...

Sonic: #Groans and throws the controller down as Shadow, playing as Voldo, beats him as Link# Aaaaauuugh! I demand a rematch!

Amy Rose: But Sonic, that's the 395th time you've lost...

Sonic: THAT'S NOT THE POINT!

Me: Heheheheheheh...

Tails: What's so funny?

Me: Just seein' Sonic face off reminds me of how I always kick the ass of one of my buddies on 2-player games.

Rouge: Well get used to it. Shadow's on a real winning streak this time.

Sonic: #Throws the controller down# DAMMIT!

Me: Okay, let's get to the story before he loses his temper guys.

* * *

Rouge leapt to her feet and dove at Abaddon, only to meet with the muddy ground yet again, this time finding his leathery boot pressed on her back right between her wings. She struggled violently, trying to drag herself to her feet, screeching furiously. Unfortunately, between his boot and the slick, muddy ground, it was a futile attempt. **"DAMN YOU! LET HIM GO! LET SHADOW GO, NOW! I'LL KILL YOU, I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"**

Abaddon huffed a bit and raised his boot just high enough to stomp on her back, sending a surge of pain through the Bat girl's body that forced an automatic shriek. "Insolence... you'd do well to respect your superiors. You wouldn't have a prayer if I actually let you fight me, you'd be dead on the ground in a second. Now listen, you're going to get your next mission..."

Knuckles forced himself up on his arms, glaring at Abaddon. "Wh... why do you even want the items anyways...? What is your purpose for making us collect them while you hold Shadow hostage...?"

Abaddon chuckled softly, grinding his heel into Rouge's spine, taking a sadistic pleasure in her agonized cries. He glanced to the Echidna out the corner of his eyes, cracking his knuckles. "Why...? I'd think that of all people, **YOU** would know the story and capabilities that are partnered with these items, Guardian... but I apparently thought wrong. So, I'll give you a basic outline of what they really are..." Abaddon raised his boot from Rouge's body and kicked her in the ribs, thus rolling her onto her back. He watched as the Bat girl tried to catch the breath that was knocked from her as a result of that recent motion, still snickering under his breath. "You see, each of the eight items is a piece of armor, forged for a great warrior that, quite obviously, has been dead for quite some time. Centuries, actually... But in no way are these ordinary items. In fact, it was impossible for the humans or we Anthropomorphs to forge them ourselves. So over a thousand years ago, when a great threat came to the planet, the creatures of this planet prayed for salvation from the Gods. They prayed for a way to defeat a foe which they were utterly defenseless against. The Gods took pity on them and bestowed upon their greatest warrior Elemental Armor. The three items you know of, the Fire Pendant, the Sea Greaves, and the Shadow Cape, are individually powerful enough. But once brought together with the other five items are united and donned upon even the weakest individual, they will become a virtually indestructable warrior, with powers that can rival those of the Gods themselves!"

Those words sent a chill firing through Rouge instantly. If these could even make the single most feeble person on the planet nearly invincible, what could they do to Abaddon, who already had almost inconceivable power? If there was any fur on her body that wasn't naturally white, it certainly had become so as the thought of Abaddon possessing near infinite power ran through her mind. She clenched her fists tightly and looked up to the silver Hedgehog, her teeth grit. "Why... why do you need any more power than you already have? Aren't you strong enough as it is?"

Abaddon blinked as she said these words. He then smirked, walking towards Rouge slowly, moving his free hand forward. This made the Bat girl cringe and shut her eyes, but only until his claws touched gently upon her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly, finding herself face-to-face with her adversary as he spoke. "You are right, I should have enough power. As we are right now, I could obliterate every last one of you and leave not even a speck of dust behind... but I've seen the feats of your allies before. I've seen what Shadow here can do, and I've also seen what that blue menace, Sonic the Hedgehog, is capable of. I've tracked them since the first time they came to public attention for their heroic feats. I've seen how they always gather the 7 Chaos Emeralds and access those accursed Super forms. And although I'm always up for a challenge, I'm in this one to win, so I refuse to take any unnecessary risks. And from what my studies have shown, the so-called 'infinite' power of the Chaos Emeralds can't hold a candle to that of the Elemental Armor."

Rouge sat there for a moment, then scoffed at him, grinning a bit. "I see... you're afraid of them... You're afraid of what they can do to you if they were ever to work together like they did against the Final Hazard a couple years ago..." She watched as Abaddon's face writhed into a disgusted expression. This fed her confidence, allowing her grin to grow larger. "I bet if even Sonic alone got his hands on the Chaos Emeralds, he could beat your ass right into the gr---" She was stopped suddenly as his free hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing tightly. She gasped desperately for air, writhing weakly in his grip as he lifted her off the ground.

Knuckles growled observed this, forcing himself to his feet tiredly as he raised one hand forward in desperation. **"LET HER GO! YOU'RE GONNA KILL HER IF YOU DON'T STOP CHOKING HER!"** His hands tightened themselves into fists as he watched Abaddon smirk, glancing at the Echidna out the corner of his eye. He hated the smug look that silver Hedgehog gave him, but knew that with Rouge AND Shadow in hand, he was in no condition to make any kind of move.

Abaddon spat to the side and tossed Rouge to the muddy ground roughly, leaving her gasping and choking as she worked to breathe. He turned his back to the trio, throwing Shadow over his shoulder. "Hmph. Your next item is in Emerald Town. It's the Steel Saber. Though plainly named, don't underestimate it's power. It's far more than your average blade, I assure you... You have one week starting now. I'd suggest you make haste if you ever want this Hedgehog to return to you in one piece..." With that, Abaddon sank into his own shadow, the black Hedgehog in his grasp.

Knuckles rushed to Rouge as she forced herself to sit up, kneeling beside her, but not laying a hand on her. "You okay, Rouge...?"

Rouge gave a weak nod as she rubbed her throat, her ears lowered against her skull. "... yeah... let's go, we don't have a moment to lose..."

* * *

_**Meanwhile...**_

In Emerald Town, the familiar trio of Amy, Sonic, and Tails made their way through the Shopping Arcade. Amy spun on one heel to walk backwards as she locked eyes on the two boys, both of speaking between each other to pass the time. "So what do you guys want to do first? We've got the whole day to spend out here!", she cheerfully chimed. She had won a bet on, surprisingly, if she could beat Sonic in an arm-wrestling contest. The conditions were that if she won, he'd have to take her on a date, and if Sonic won, she wouldn't so-much as use the words "You", "Me", and "Date" in the same sentence for two weeks.

Sonic groaned, murmuring to Tails as he rubbed the back of his head between his spines. "Thanks for tagging along, little bro. Dunno what I'd do if you weren't here to weather this with me..."

Tails chuckled a bit, his hands clasped together behind his head. He looked to his best friend out the corner of his eyes with a playful grin. "Hey, I warned you that you shouldn't have done that. With how she waves her Piko Piko Hammer around so easily, you didn't have a Snowball's chance in Heck."

Sonic huffed a bit, looking away as he grumbled under his breath. He was the one who'd proposed said bet to begin with, and it was bad enough that he'd LOST that bet when he was so confident in himself. _'Jeez, all because Amy's been so Hellbent on that work-out program of her's... I never figured she'd get to be as strong as me, though...'_

The blue Hedgehog's thought process was cut off as Amy got right up in his face, poking her nose against his. **"SONIIIIC!"** She watched with a slightly irritated expression as Sonic fell back from surprise of her call. She could tell he had been lost in thought, but she didn't like being ignored when she asked a question. Her irritation quickly turned to a hysteric giggle as she crouched down, winking at him. "How about we go to the clothes store? There's been a new outfit I've been dying to check out."

Sonic groaned, sulking his head as he brought himself to his feet. "Alright, alright..." He sighed, fixing his posture so he was upright. He at least wanted to give off a look of confidence while he contemplated his situation. As he and Amy headed off, he glanced over his shoulder to Tails, who had his eyes fixated on an object in the window of an Antique shop. "Hey, Tails! We're going ahead!"

Tails blinked, shifting his attention to Sonic as he watched him walk slowly farther and farther off. He waved a bit, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll catch up in a couple minutes! I just want to check something out in here!" With that, Tails shifted his attention back to the item in name, studying it. The item was an antique sword, resting flat on a cushion in the window. The blade, near the tip, spread into what resembled an arrow head, except much more smoothly fashioned with the only straight point dead center at the very tip of the blade. The two extended sides that spread out hooked like sickles curving downwards toward the handle, one side totally symmetrical to the other. At the hilt of the blade was a diamond encrusted at the center, presumably on both sides. The hilt curved upward towards the tip of the blade in what resembled Bull horns. The handle was black leather, with not even the slightest sign of wear. At the base of the handle was another diamond, rounded out smoothly. From what the young Fox could see, the sword in it's entirety was nothing short of flawless. What puzzled him was why it was in an Antique shop if this was so. The design looked far too old to be even remotely close to modern. It could have been a replica of an ancient type of blade, but that was immediately discarded from his mind. He knew the owner of this shop, and was aware that he only took the genuine article, no replicas or phonies of any kind. Finally, after about 10 minutes of observation, he set off after Sonic and Amy, still pondering the reason such a fine sword was in a shop of antiquities...

* * *

Me: DAMN this chapter came out well!

Rouge: And you ACTUALLY finished it quickly!

Me: Yeah, awesome ain't it?

Knuckles: Definitely an improvement over your previous work schedule.

Me: Well, I felt kinda bad for holdin' the readers up like that. Kinda funny though, I checked my reviews this mornin' and saw Rock Raider's comment. The timing for that question couldn't have been any more perfect if I asked.

Sonic: Better yet, the stars are finally here!

Tails and Amy: YEAH!

Me: Well, you guys are just the supporting cast this time. Shadow and Rouge are the real stars of the show.

Rouge and Shadow: #Chuckle and give thumbs up to the three#

Me: #Watches as Sonic, Amy and Tails lunge at Shadow and Rouge, just to get their asses handed to them by Shadow's Chaos Nightmare# ... you know, at this rate, I'm not going to HAVE a cast... Y'll all have slaughtered each other before we even reach the halfway point...

Knuckles: You're the author, you can just bring them back, can't you?

Me: Yeeaaaahhh... but where's the fun in that? Anywho, see ya next chapter, readers!


	12. Warrior in the Blade, Part 1

**Distant Shadows Chapter 12 - Warrior in the Blade, Part 1**

Sonic: AGAIN!

Me: I've been busy.

Knuckles: It's been another month, though!

Me: I'm aware, Knucklehead.

Shadow: At the rate you're going the story won't be done by even New Years!

Me: I'll pick up the pace.

Rouge: What about college coming up?

Me: I'll do it 'tween classes.

Tails: Then your homework?

Me: AFTER homework.

Amy: Do the damned chapter already! I had a cameo last one, I WANT A FULL ROLE!

Tails and Sonic: SAME HERE!

Me: SHAAAAAAADDAAAAAAAAAAAAP!

Sonic Characters: #Fall silent#

Me: JEEZ! I'm DOING THE BLOODY CHAPTER, NOW QUIT BITCHING AND GET TO WORK BEFORE I GO MEDIEVAL ON YER ASSES!

Sonic: #Murmurs# Hypocrite...

Me: #Clubs him mercilessly with a very large dictionary# Care to repeat, Blue!

Sonic: #Lies in a twisted and broken mess# N, no...

Me: THEN TO WORK WITH YA!

* * *

Rouge hissed in pain as a doctor in the Emerald Town General Hospital dabbed some Hydrogen Peroxide on one of the slash marks between her wings. Abaddon's claws left shallow cuts, but they were jagged enough that they hurt just as severely as any deep wound. She had left Omega on the plane with Cream, as it claimed that it was able to self-repair itself. Knuckles was in the worst of shape, currently taking up residence in a hospital room. The injuries he had sustained were far more severe, and required at least a day's rest before the doctors would even allow him out of bed, and another before they would permit him to leave. Rouge remembered vividly how he collapsed in a heap halfway to the plane, and it took both she and Omega to drag him back. She cringed as she was broken from her thoughts by the Hydrogen Peroxide as it hit the worst area of the injuries, where Abaddon had dug his boot into her back and inflicted even further damage. Her head remained downcast, lost in her own thoughts. _'I can't believe how easily he took all three of us down... It's impossible, nothing, NOTHING is that powerful... but... he is, and I witnessed it. Myself, and Knuckles, and Omega, the three of us are the the only witnesses to it...'_

"All done, Rouge."

Rouge was snapped from thought as the doctor's voice rang through her ears. She looked over her shoulder with a serious expression as she watched the doctor dispose of the cotton balls she had used to clean her cut. She could feel gauze wrapped around her back and just under her breasts. Apparently she had totally spaced out while the doctor cleaned up her wounds.

"Now I want you to be careful. The wounds aren't too deep, but too much physical activity could inflict further damage. Don't do anything too strenuous that would strain your muscles and force the wounds to stretch out."The doctor, a Ferret Girl in her mid-20's and government employee like Rouge, finished putting away her tools and shifted her eyes to Rouge. She'd tended to her on multiple occassions before and had gotten to know her fairly well. Safe to say, they were well-acquainted with one another. "So, what put you in this condition? It's not like you to come in with injuries like this."

Rouge by this time was behind a curtain, changing out of the traditional paper gown that all hospitals had their In-Patients dress in, and into her own clothes. "... it was nothing really. Some punk with sharp claws, nothing new or unusual..." She sighed as she walked from behind the curtain, in a totally different set of clothes which still retained her favorite colors and designs. A white hoodie with myriad of pink hearts across the chest covered her torso. Black jeans hanging loosely at the buttocks, giving view to her white silk panties. Pink and black sneakers with white laces made up her outfit this time around. It wasn't only the fact that her other outfit was filthy with mud, but the fact that she never wore that particular outfit in town unless she had a special reason.

The doctor gave a gentle nod at the answer the Bat Girl gave. She grinned a little bit as she took off a pair of latex gloves she'd been working with and disposed of them. "Speaking of the Echidna, since when did you start working with others? I thought you were a Lone Wolf-type. What, did this one hit a soft spot with you?"

Rouge shot a glare at the doctor the second the words crossed her ears, clenching her fists tightly. "Yeah right! I only need his help because he's got valuable information! Otherwise, I don't give a flaming rat's ass about him!"

The doctor chuckled as she poured herself a steaming hot cup of coffee. "Uh-huh, sure. You really proved how little you cared by bringing him here, getting him patched up, and paying for the 30-some-odd stitches we had to put into each wound to close the skin. I can REAAAALLY tell you don't care."

Rouge looked away as the doctor said this. _'Insert foot in mouth, Rouge...'_ She gave a gentle sigh, turning around as she started to walk out. "Whatever... look, April, just watch over him and don't let him die. I still need him alive so he can help me out. Now, I'll catch you later, I've got something I need to look for..." Without another word, Rouge hastily made her way out the door.

* * *

At this point of time, Sonic, Amy and Tails were finishing their business in the Shopping Arcade. Sonic grimaced behind a dozen different boxes from only 5 different stores, while Tails shoved about 15 different bags on a loaned shopping cart from a sporting goods store who's owner he and Sonic were on very good terms with. Tails was slumped against the shopping cart as he glanced to Sonic out of the corner of his eyes. "I am NEVER, I repeat, **NEEEEEEEVEEEERRRR**, coming on a shopping trip with you and Amy ever again..." 

Sonic's eye twitched a bit as he spoke to Tails. "How the Heck was I supposed to know that Amy could buy this much! I'm surprised she still HAS her credit cards with the frequency she uses them!" He heaved a heavy sigh as he glanced over to his friend. "Besides, this isn't happening again. Next time, it's a race. A flat out race at top speed. I'll break every law of physics you can think of before this happens again!"

Tails winced slightly as he heard Sonic's voice gradually raise as he spoke those words. "Sonic, maybe you should..."

Without any warning, Amy stood firmly before Sonic, her eyes narrowed. "Before **WHAT **happens again, Sonic!" She watched as Sonic came to a screeching halt, his eyes peeking out at her through a hole between the boxes. He could practically see fire shooting out of her eyes as she slung the one bag she had been carrying over her shoulder. Her foot began to tap at a furious pace as she waited for the Blue Hedgehog's answer.

Sonic's eyes shrank as he forced a nervous laugh. "W, well, ya see, I was talking about how Tails is having to come along with us! I, I mean, I know he has a LOT of better things to do and all. Y'know, maybe I should just go and run him home while---"

**"NO CHANCE!"**, she hollared in an earth-shattering tone. It seemed to stop everybody within earshot, and draw a crowd from those who could see where it was coming from. "I know EXACTLY what you're doing Sonic! You're going to leave me with everything and just ditch me! You've done it to me tons of times before, and I'm NOT letting it happen again!"

Tails watched as Sonic feebly tried to defend himself against Amy's ferocious onslaught. Tails could only resist making an 'Every Rose has it's thorns' crack while the infuriated Pink Hedgehog gave his best friend probably the worst chewing out of his life. Tails stepped back, speaking aloud, knowing it would make no difference in any case. "Riiiight. You two just take care of this, I'm gonna go see about getting some drinks!" Just as Tails had turned to leave, a shriek of terror echoed through the Shopping Arcade.

Sonic looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing while he gazed in the direction the cry eminated from. "Amy, Tails, did you guys hear that...?"

Tails nodded swiftly, looking back towards Sonic and Amy. "We should go and check it out."

Amy sighed, pulling out her Piko Piko Hammer. "Fine, but Sonic, we're going to have a LONG talk about our relationship once this is over with!" Amy took off straight after Tails, who by this time had made fair headway towards the source of the terrified cry.

Sonic just stood there a moment, dumbfounded as he thought over what Amy had said. **OUR **relationship? Since when had he been in a relationship of that type with her? He groaned, shaking his head as he dropped the boxes and tore down the street, leaving a blue streak hovering in mid-air behind him.

* * *

Rouge did a back flip as a sword slashed at her, landing on one knee about 5 feet away. She shot a lethal glare at the Chameleon anthro wielding it. He had a fair amount of skill with it, proof of that left in the slash marks across the sleeves and abdominal regions of her sweater. "Look, this is the last time I'm going to warn you before I get serious! Put down the sword, or I'm going to have to use force! And believe me, you do NOT want to cross me on today of all days!" She watched as the Chameleon man merely charged her for a 3rd time. She huffed a bit and got into a stance, drawing her leg back. Just as he brought the blade down at her, a single spinning kick sent it flying out of his hands and down the street. Another kick followed rythmically, sending the perp. through the glass window of the Antiques shop the sword had originally been stored. With a soft sigh, she stood and dusted herself off. 

Immediately, she walked into the store and knelt down beside her assailant. He was laying in a heap, out like a light. Not that she had any complaints. He HAD tried to kill her after all, so a simple KO was quite generous of her, considering she could have easily snapped his neck and ended his life on the spot. After a moment of examination, she grasped the Chameleon's arm and dragged him outside. "Come on, tough guy, straight to the cops with you." What baffled her was the sword-wielding assailant wasn't just anyone, but the owner of the very Antique store that the blade had come from. She'd overheard a customer from the store on a public phone when she first learned about the incident. Apparently, she wanted to buy the sword and asked the owner to get it for her from the display in the front. Right after he grabbed it, he turned and attacked. Fortunately, Rouge had gotten there before there were any casualties of his unpredictable attack. She couldn't understand why this man would just suddenly attack, though. Perhaps this girl had relations to someone he had a personal grudge against, or he was just too attached to the sword for his own good. In any case, she just wanted to get him off her hands and back to searching for the next item.

That was when it happened. From amidst the crowd that had gathered to see what was going on with the owner, a Cheetah anthro lept into the air. Rouge glanced out the corner of her eyes just in time to see him make his move. She turned and threw the Antique shop owner to the side and jumped back as the sword came down and cut right into the pavement where she was standing. She landed 6 feet back, wincing a bit as she set weight on her left leg. A quick glance gave notice to a fair-sized cut that the sword had no doubt inflicted. As she raised her eyes from the cut to the new assailant, she saw him vanish. This reminded her that Cheetah anthros were some of the fastest creatures on the planet, taking backseat only to Sonic, Shadow, and a few others blessed with baffling amounts of agility. Because Cheetah anthros were so agile, the only sign that the Cheetah was on the attack was the glint of the blade in the sunlight. She had no time to move. She was convinced that this would be the end of the road for her.

By this time, she had expected to feel a blade pierced through her chest and blood running down her body. But the only thing she could even hear was a solid, firm cracking noise eminating from just infront of her body. A new figure came into view as everything slowed down. Sonic had come to the rescue, his right foot currently on the air with a tuft of the Cheetah's fur on it. A crash into the concrete wall of the Antique shop gave her a pretty good idea of what had happened. Apparently, just before she was thrust into by the sword, Sonic had given the Cheetah one of his famous high-speed kicks. Where ever it hit, she was sure there were broken bones. To top things off, the overly powerful impact of the kick seemed to have sent her would-be assassin flying. Rouge shifted her gaze from the wall the Cheetah slumped against to her vigilante hero, Sonic. "Thanks for that, but if you think I owe you something, you're horribly mistaken."

Sonic grinned a bit, flying a thumbs-up to the Bat Girl. "Nice to see you too, Rouge. So what'd you do to that sorry sap?" Sonic's walk seemed to be something of a swagger as he made his way towards the Cheetah, Rouge following not far behind. "How's the Casino life treating you?"

Rouge sighed a bit as she picked up the pace of her walk, passing Sonic to ensure she would get to her attacker first. "The timing for this is hardly appropriate, Blue. Save it." She knelt down infront of her assailant, raising an eyebrow. Here was a surprise, he was actually conscious. "Seems your kicks are a little rusty, Sonic."

The teenage hero chuckled a bit, rubbing one of his gloved index fingers just beneath his nose in a smug manner. "Aaahhh, I was going slow. It's a little crowded today... Hello, what's this?" Sonic immediately turned and walked towards a sword lying amongst some of the rubble created by the Cheetah's impact into the wall. He knelt down and examined it for a moment in silence.

Rouge narrowed her eyes as she forced the Cheetah to sit up, leaning him against the wall he'd just gotten so up close and personal with. "Since you're still conscious, I'll make use of it, and I think you should too. Now, why did you attack me out of the blue like that! I'm positive that I've never even seen you before, so what possible reason could you have!"

The Cheetah coughed a little bit, his teeth grit. "I... I'm sorry, I, I didn't have any control... something happened... that sword... it, it was like it called me and... I picked it up... I saw everything, but, I couldn't do anything to stop... That sword, it... it was like it was manipulating me..."

Rouge's eyes widened as she heard this. That sounded exactly like what the Fire Pendant and Sea Greaves did to Chaos and Gemerl. She snapped her attention to Sonic, hollering to him. **"DON'T TOUCH THE SWORD!"** But it was too late. She saw Sonic standing totally still, his back to her, the sword firmly grasped in his right hand.

Sonic shifted his gaze to Rouge, turning his head to look at her while she stood up. His eyes had gone from Emerald Green to a dark Crimson. His spines were bristled up, looking sharper and far more dangerous than ever. A lethal grin came across his lips as a blood red aura rose from his feet to the tips of his ears, surrounding his body and tinting his fur into a bloody violet color. As he spoke, two voices rose past his lips. The first was recognizably his own, but the 2nd was not. It far more devilish, and far too dark to belong to him. The first words that came from his lips were...

_**"Mortal... your life is mine."

* * *

**_

Me: #Currently getting his neck wrung by Amy Rose#

Amy: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SONIC!

Me: #Twitches, pointing to his throat with one hand while waving the other frantically in the air#

Tails: #Sweatdrops# Amy, um, maybe you should let go and let him speak before you strangle him...

Amy: ... oh, right... I guess that would help. #Just drops him on his ass#

Me: #Coughs# SHIT woman, I need to get a Jaws of Life! You've got a freakin' vice grip...!

Amy: Answer the question!

Me: You've got the rough details. If you can't figure it out yourself, you're gonna have to wait until next chapter, so deal with it! The whole explanation'll be up then!

Amy: BUT I CAN'T WAIT ANOTHER MOOOOOOONTH!

Me: IT'S GONNA BE UP THIS WEEK!

Amy: I CAN'T WAIT!

Me: TOO BAD!

Shadow: #Watches as they break into a hollering match that soon evolves into an all-out brawl# Should... we stop them?

Abaddon: Naaah. Let 'em. #Sips some coffee# The carnage is nice every now and again.

Me: #Stomps Amy into the ground and sighs# Okay readers, that's it for this chapter. If this stinkin' pink Hedgehog doesn't kill me before then, I'll see ya next chapter!

Amy: #Climbs out of the ground in classic "Dawn of the Dead" style#

Me: ZOMBIIIIIEEEE! #Plugs her in the head with a shotgun#

Cream: OH MY GOD! YOU KILLED AMY!

Rouge: YOU BASTARD!

Me: #Smacks them for cheap South Park spoofing and heads off#


	13. Warrior in the Blade, Part 2

**Distant Shadows Chapter 13 - Warrior in the Blade, Part 2**

Me: Okay folks, time for chapter 13!

Sonic: Unlucky number 13, huh? IF that rings true, this thing'll never get posted...

Tails: Maybe it'll work reverse on him and he'll be done immediately?

Amy: His luck seems rotten enough for that to happen.

Abaddon: #Sharpens his claws# Bah, who cares...?

Sonic: Unlike YOU, Abaddon, we're going to have more than minor appearances until the story's climax.

Me: #Sips some Diet Pepsi and raises an eyebrow# What makes you so sure about that, Sonic...? Hell, I may decide Abaddon's a good guy and there's an even greater evil behind him...

Sonic: But that'd send the story to Hell!

Me: Ah, yes. But I'm the author, so I can do what I want. Remember Blue, I could have you killed this chapter, too, so I wouldn't get comfy thinkin' you can call the shots.

Sonic: #Sweatdrops# You're such an ass hat...

Me: Ain't I? Now c'mon, chop chop! This thing won't write itself!

* * *

Rouge stood silent for a moment as she repeated Sonic's words in her mind.

_**"Mortal... your life is mine."**_

She knew immediately that these were not words that the real Sonic would utter under any circumstance. From what the Cheetah had said just before she recognized Sonic's change, she knew he was right. That sword was controlling people. No doubt that it had taken over and dominated the mind of the Antique shop owner as well. She stepped back for a second, hesitant. This was most likely the Steel Saber, the 4th piece of the legendary armor, that Abaddon wanted. She was aware that it was vital that she get the blade, but with it in Sonic's hands, she also knew it was going to prove to be a fight that drove her to her limits, possibly beyond. Once she had cleared her mind and reassured herself of her dedication to freeing Shadow, she stepped forward and took a fighting stance. "... I'm sorry, Sonic. But this is for Shadow, and I don't care what that damnable sword is doing to you, but I need it!"

Sonic snickered in a sinister fashion at Rouge's words. He tilted his head from side-to-side, cracking his neck thoroughly in the process. **_"I see... this 'Shadow' you speak of... to confront me while I hold this Hedgehog in my control, you must be greatly dedicated... Let's test your resolve!"_** With those final words, Sonic vanished into a Blue Streak.

Although Rouge was able to trace the trail left by Sonic's speed, it was no use. By the time she'd gotten halfway through what Sonic had left behind in the air, the cold steel of the blade pierced the upper layers of skin on her back just below her wings. She didn't even have time to scream before a foot made contact with the back of her head, swiftly turning her upside down and sending her flying forward, crashing into the windshield of a nearby car. It wasn't even a few seconds into the fight and she was already a bloodied mess, with small shards of glass protruding from areas running all up and down her arms and back. She winced in pain as she sat upright, able to feel a shard of glass lodged at the cross point between one of the slash marks Abaddon left, and the newer wound inflicted by the sword. She reached around back and grasped it tightly. With a loud cry of pain, she ripped it out, throwing it quickly to the ground. She was drenched with sweat and blood beneath her fur as she dragged herself to her feet on the hood of the car. "I... I'm not done yet... Not... Not by a long shot...!"

Sonic grinned a bit as he watched her weakened struggles. He could see it plain as day that his single 2-attack combo was more than enough to render her helpless. **_"Well, well, well... I must credit you, Bat Girl, you are certainly dedicated. Anybody else with a weaker will would have been incapacitated by this point. Your resolve is impressive... unfortunately, for you, in a battle of steel, resolve is not enough to attain victory over your adversary. Prepare yourself, for now I shall take your life for my own!"_** Sonic vanished into a blue streak again, going at maximum speed towards Rouge. A devilish smile grew across his lips as he sped towards her. With one solid swipe, he brought his sword down, Hellbent on ending this battle once and for all, and claiming victory as his own.

Being close to victory, though, is never worth anything unless one can actually take it for themselves. In this case, victory was snatched from him just as he as it came within reach of his fingertips. With a loud clang, Sonic's blade came to a sudden stop and sent another object flying downward after transferring the momentum of the strike into it. The object came around and clubbed Sonic in the back of the head, sending him crashing through the hood of the car just between Rouge's legs. The sword itself went flying into the air for a moment before it came down and sliced straight through a parking meter, sinking to a stop at the point the meter's pole met with the concrete.

It was Amy Rose, standing in shock of her unintentional actions. She had seen the darkness eminating around Sonic's body, a special ability gained by the hours of Tarot reading she did as a hobby. She at first intended to get between Rouge and Sonic to try and stop the fight, but just as she had reached Rouge, Sonic made his move. She had no choice but to use her Piko Piko Hammer to parry his assault. Even though she meant only to halt the assault, she would have never predicted the intertia brought on by the swinging blade would send her spinning on her heel and forcing her hammer to drive Sonic's skull through the car like a tent stake into the ground. "Oh my **GOD** what have I done! Sonic!"

Tails arrived just as Amy finished pulling Sonic from the wreckage of the car. He could see how badly wounded Rouge was, and a massive amount of bleeding from Sonic's skull. As he came to a stop beside them, Rouge fell off the car and onto the ground. She was unconscious and bleeding profusely from multiple wounds incurred due to her crash into the windshield, not even counting the Steel Saber's slash mark across her back. Tails knelt beside her and lifted her torso up in his arm, letting it rest slightly on his knee. "Rouge! Rouge, wake up!" As he tried to wake her with his words, he also shook her gently, doing everything he could to stir her. He growled in frustration and looked up, staring at the crowd gathered around. **"SOMEBODY CALL AN AMBULANCE! WE NEED HELP!"**

**

* * *

**

Rouge's eyes fluttered opened after what seemed to be an eternity. To find she was floating without the use of her wings in itself said enough that she was either dreaming, dead, or on the verge of death. Although unaware of it at the time, she was in the Spirit Realm, the same realm in which she took Havoc's trial for the Shadow Cape. It looked to be about 50 feet on each of it's six sides. Once she took in her surroundings, she gazed upon her own body. A suit of armor, much like that of a medieval knight's, adorned her body. The only real difference was that it was a dark shade of Violet. She could feel a weight upon her right shoulder. In response to this, she reached past her shoulder and grasped the handle of something. Once she drew the object before her eyes, she could see plainly that it was a sword. It was fairly long, 5 feet in length at the blade. The only thought that crossed her mind about it was why something that should be heavy was light as a feather. That thought, though, was quickly cast aside as the sound of metal-upon-metal came before her in a rhythm of footsteps.

Standing tall before her was a black Bull Anthro, adorned in matching black armor. This armor was far different from her own, though. Instead of the basic knight apparel, the armor adorning his body was custom-made and fit. The shoulders were extended into points with yellow markings on them, giving the image of a Devil's eyes gazing forward towards his adversary. A blood red cape extending from the armor's shoulders waved in the air. Spikes lined the chest, elbows and knees. Hanging off his left arm was a shield adorned with Sapphires, Emeralds, Diamonds, Rubies and Amethyst stones. Within the vice grip of his right hand was the very item Rouge had been seeking. The Steel Saber. **_"So, you're the Bat Girl who was saved by that meddlesome Pink Hedgehog... I can feel the traces of energy wafting from your body. You had the Fire Pendant, Shadow Cape and Sea Greaves at one point... You must be a worthy adversary to have claimed them as your own."_**

Rouge narrowed her eyes as she placed her 2nd hand on the sword and readied herself for what seemed to be an imminent battle. "I can't take all the credit. I have Omega and that thick-headed Echidna Knuckles to thank for helping me along the way... But now I need your sword. I'll ask you nicely, please, let me have it. The life of someone I know is in jeopardy, and I need the Steel Saber to save them."

The Bull cocked his head back and laughed briefly as he heard this, quickly calming himself and gazing once more at her. This time though, he gave her a piercing glare. **_"Feh... You'll get no such generousity from me. Just as your predecessors, you'll have to defeat me. And I, the Steel God known to you mortals as Forge, have never fallen against one of your kind in battle! Come at me!"_**

Rouge knew she had a fight on her hands. Though whether or not it would be on par with the one she had against Sonic was still the question. This battle-hungry God had only manipulated Sonic to use the Blue Hedgehog's speed and power to his own advantage, that in itself was obvious. But now she was facing Forge's raw power, totally unrestrained within the Spirit Realm. She refused to let this shake the foundation on which she would do whatever it took to claim the Steel Saber, for too much rode upon this. With her resolve set firmly in mind, she made the first charge at the God.

* * *

As Rouge began her fight with the God of Steel in the Spirit Realm, she was in another battle in the Physical Realm. Her body, horribly thrashed and beaten by the Possessed Sonic's onslaught, was dying. She was currently being wheeled through corridors of the Emerald Town General Hospital with an IV attached to her arm and a respirator over her mouth and nose. April, the doctor who had tended to her not 2 hours ago, was rushing alongside her stretcher towards the Emergency Room while she was briefed on her condition by nurse.

"There are 3 shards of glass sticking out of her chest that seem to have missed her vital organs. The problem is that she's got multiple lacerations all over her body and seems to have lost a lot of blood."

April gave a swift nod as she flipped through a few papers on a clipboard while she power-walked alongside Rouge's stretcher to keep up. "Alright. We're going to need to stitch up these wounds first. Get to her Medical Records and find out what kind of blood type she has, then get a couple pints over to the ER, stat!"

Another nurse that was pushing the cart glanced to April out the corner of her eyes as she made a turn around a corner to the Emergency Room. "What about that Blue Hedgehog that was found at the scene unconscious?"

April looked forward as they passed through the doors into the ER and approached a small area already prepped for Rouge. "He just had some gashes in his skull from being driven through the hood of that car. I'm pretty sure a few stitches will take care of him. But we have more important matters at hand right now, so let the other doctors take care of him while we deal with her!"

* * *

Sonic, Amy and Tails sat outside the ER. Sonic was fully conscious now, with bandages on his cheek and gauze wrapped around his skull. He looked to Amy, who had been depressed ever since he regained consciousness. He sighed a bit, reaching over and putting his hand on her shoulder as a gesture to try and comfort her. "Hey, Amy, relax. Everything's gonna be alright... Rouge is gonna be fine, I promise."

Amy shook her lowered head weakly, pink locks hiding her face and eyes from view. "It's NOT alright, Sonic... I could've really hurt you when I struck you like that... I, I don't really deserve to be anywhere near you..." With that, she pulled away from him and stood, turning her back to face him as she started down the hall.

Sonic rushed to his feet and walked up behind her, grasping both her shoulders firmly. "Hey, hey, hey! Amy, look, if it weren't for you, I'd have killed Rouge! You got that stinkin' sword outta my grip so it couldn't control me anymore..." Sonic sighed a bit, shutting his eyes nervously. _'I can't believe I'm about to say this, I KNOW, I freakin' **KNOW** that I'm gonna regret it later...!'_ He looked up at the back of her head seriously, now speaking softly. "I... if anything... I OWE you for helping me like you did... So, please, just relax, alright?"

Amy just stood silent for a moment as she heard these words. She was stunned that Sonic was being so kind to her, especially after his feeble attempt to ditch her earlier that day. She grit her teeth, beginning to shake a little bit. A barely audible whimpering sound started up, then, with no warning, she shifted to face the Blue Hedgehog and fell to her knees against him, her arms wrapped around his back as she began to sob.

Sonic didn't really know how to respond at first. It was without a doubt strange for him, but he knew he couldn't just leave her in this state. He sighed and knelt down, wrapping his arms around her head and neck as he held her close. "It's alright, Amy... everything's gonna be alright..."

Tails smiled softly as he watched Sonic comforting Amy in the middle of the empty hall. He always believed that Sonic had liked Amy just a little bit, and the fact that he was being so kind to her right now verified it for him. But that wasn't what was really on his mind at the time. He couldn't understand what an item like a possessed sword would be doing in an Antique Shop. Sonic had claimed that it was a possessed blade that seemed to take control of whoever held it. He could understand that, he'd dealt with things like Chaos Emeralds, the Chao God Chaos, and many other things that others would dismiss as nothing more than a Fairy Tale. But what baffled him was why it had started up when it did. It was a fairly new item in the Antique Shop, he could tell when he saw it earlier since he was a frequent visitor to the place. But if it had made the ruckus it did earlier that sent 3 people, Sonic included, on a destructive rampage, it would have never even reached the display window. _'What I want to know... is why it stopped possessing people after the battle. When the Police picked it up, nothing happened... If I could only figure it out...'

* * *

_

Back within the Spirit Realm, Rouge was locked blade to blade against Forge. They had each taken numerous blows, both severely weakened one another. Rouge's armor was slashed to pieces that were only barely dangling off of her body, accompanied by multiple gashes and slash marks. The God of Steel had been punctured and lacerated nearly as much as the Bat Girl he was in combat against. He couldn't help but release a chuckle as their blades ground against each other. **_"I must admit, Mortal... The resolve that drives you is impressive... All others who I have seen have desired only the power or wealth the Steel Saber could bring them, giving them feeble souls I shattered within seconds of beginning the battle. Few have ever even gone as far as to damage my battle armor. But you, Mortal, you have come as far as to bring injury. For that, I applaud you."_**

Rouge grinned a bit as she pushed forward, driving the battle hungry God backwards on his hooved feet. "Thanks... I'd say I was impressed, but, you are a God after all, you're supposed to be tough...! You did live up to my expectations in terms of power at least, I'll give you that much!"

Forge chortled menacingly as he listened to Rouge's comments. **_"Hehehehe... thank you... but... I'm afraid that even with your resolve... You are no match for my power!"_** The instant these words passed, he pushed her forward, disorienting the Bat Girl and sending her stumbling backwards. He lept into the air after that and swung at her with the flatside of the Steel Saber, clubbing her straight in the side of the head and sending her flying into one of the solid steel walls of the cube they were locked within. **_"And with that, I'll finish you..."_**

Rouge coughed up blood as she slumped against the wall, her eyes wide as she gasped for air. That single blow to her skull took a major amount of energy from her. She could already hear his hooves clicking slowly against the steel floor, coming closer and closer to her to deal the finishing blow. _'Damn... that one took a lot out of me... I can't believe how powerful he is. I'm not sure if I even have a chance anymore. The more we fight, the more exhausted I become. But he seems to become stronger... It's like he's feeding off of me...'_ Rouge's eyes narrowed seriously as she repeated that last sentence through her mind once more. She then began to think over what he had said, how others who were after the blade for only power or wealth hadn't stood a chance, and how he'd commented on her resolve. _'That's it! I know how to beat him!'_

As the God of Steel came to a halt before her body, he cocked his head to one side smugly and raised his blade. **_"Well done... You have surpassed my expectations. Even so, you have failed to defeat me. Now, prepare yourself for your journey into the afterlife!"_** With lightning speed, he brought his blade down on top of her, filling the room with a blinding flash.

As the flash died, the God stood still, his eyes wide and teeth grit. The Steel Saber dropped from his grip as he fell to his hands and knees. Blood poured from his mouth onto the floor as Rouge stood behind the Bull with her back turned to him, drenched in the very blood that the God was losing so much of. He could feel a massive hole through his gut, the likes of which had never been inflicted upon him before. As he gazed over his shoulder to the Bat Girl, he could see that her armor was repairing itself, and her wounds were healing. Forge's pained gaze soon became a hate-filled glare.. **_"H... how... what in the blazes did you do to..."_**

Rouge turned and smiled in her usual smug fashion. "Simple, I figured out how to beat you... You kept going on about how others who didn't have the resolve I did died so quickly... And when I began thinking I couldn't do it, I felt myself getting weaker and weaker by the second. That's when I figured it out... Everything relied on my will power. I simply had to believe that I could do it more than you believed that you could."

The God remained still, his eyes wide for a moment. A sly grin came across his lips as he began to chuckle, lowering his head. **_"Hmhmhm... well done, Mortal... no... Rouge. That is what Havoc called you, yes...?"_**

Rouge blinked a bit, moving her hands to her hips as she walked forward towards the God. "How do you know that the Goddess Havoc knew my name...?"

Forge forced himself to his feet and leaned himself against the nearest wall on his shoulder. Blood was pouring down his body from the large hole in his gut. He grinned through the pain, his eyes shut. **_"We Gods convey to one another major events as soon as possible after they happen... She reported that a Mortal named Rouge the Bat had just barely passed the Trial of Darkness. The Gods of Flame and Water had also reported to us previously that 2 mortals and a human machine had taken their items. I'm assuming that was you and a pair of your allies. So I personally decided to lie in wait for you within the sword, and when I finally got wind of your Spirit, I used the Steel Saber as a tool to possess another mortal to do the job for me. Of course, it failed when that Pink Hedgehog intervened, and I suppose that was my downfall in the end..."_** He winced as he turned onto his back and pointing his left hand towards the ground where the Steel Saber lay. **_"Take it in hand. It will return you to your world. No doubt your allies are waiting for you there..."_**

Rouge nodded and walked towards the blade. She knelt down as she came beside it and reached for it. Just before she took it in hand, she looked over her shoulder to the badly wounded God of Steel. "You sure you're gonna be alright? I don't want the other Gods or Goddesses having a grudge against me because I took you out..."

Forge stood dumbfounded for a moment, then broke out in laughter. He forced himself upright and grinned at her once he had calmed himself. **_"Don't flatter yourself, Mortal. I may be mortally wounded by your standards, but this kind of injury to a God like myself will heal itself within a week... Now go, before I change my mind and take the Steel Saber back for my own."_**

Rouge smiled and nodded, winking at him. "Alright. See ya around, big boy!" With everything settled in the Spirit Realm for the time being, she grasped the Saber in hand and vanished.

* * *

Rouge groaned as her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was a blinding light above her head. With a heavy groan, she lifted one very sore arm over her eyes to shield them from the light. As her eyes adjusted, a room came into focus with blurred figures standing around her, speaking what sounded like gibberish. After about a moment, the figures came into focus as well, and most the feeling had returned to her body. She removed her arm from over her eyes, feeling it brush across a plastic mask that was strapped to her face, pumping air against her sealed lips

"Sonic, she's finally awake! Rouge, are you alright!", inquired a frantic young Fox that stood at her bedside.

"Let her rest, Tails, she's been through a lot! Rouge, just tell me if you need anything, I'll get it for you." Amy gave a gentle smile to her as she leaned against the bed, a look of relief on her face.

Rouge nodded silently as she began to sit up. She gasped in pain and fell back, causing Amy and Tails to panic a bit.

Tails gently touched her right arm, shaking his head. "You can't move too much, Rouge, your wounds are just beginning to heal!"

Rouge gave a gentle nod as she weakly spoke. "H... how long have I been out...?"

Amy looked to the window, where Sonic sat alone. "For 5 days. You were comatose from loss of blood. You had to have over 300 stitches put all over your body to shut the wounds..."

Rouge blinked a bit as she heard this. She grit her teeth and lifted her left arm, quickly removing the oxygen mask from over her nose and mouth. After tossing it to the side, she smiled gently to the two at her bedside. "Thanks, guys... Look... could you leave Sonic and I alone for a bit...? I need to speak with him in private..."

Tails and Amy exchanged worried glances, then nodded to Rouge. They hastily left the room in silence, leaving the Hedgehog and the Bat to themselves.

Rouge grit her teeth as she dragged herself into a sitting position, despite how much pain this brought to her. Once she was up though, the pain ceased. With a heavy sigh, she smiled over to Sonic, signaling with her hand for him to come over. "Sonic, please, let's talk..."

Sonic glanced to her, drawing his attention from a pair of birds outside. He nodded and stood, making his way to her with his head low. "Rouge... I, I'm really..."

"Not another word. I already know what you're thinking about this. Look, the sword was that had control over you, you couldn't help yourself. I mean, I fought the God that controlled the sword. He was powerful, and I barely overcame him myself. It's impossible for anyone who's not expecting him to stand even a remote chance of over-powering his will."

Sonic blinked a little bit, looking to her as if she were totally looney. "... I think when I smacked you into that car I did more damage than I thought! Give me a minute while I see if the doc can recommend a good psychiat--" He was immediately cut off by a swift barefooted kick right to the side of his face, knocking him onto the ground.

Rouge cringed from the motion, but glared furiously at him. **"I AM NOT INSANE, YOU BASTARD!"** She crossed her arms and layed back, huffing a bit. "That's the last time I try and help **YOU** feel better... Look, I need your help getting out of here..."

Sonic gawked at her from his spot on the floor. "Get **OUT!** Have you seen a mirror lately! You're in no shape to be out of bed! What possible purpose could you have for dragging your beaten and battered butt from that bed right now!"

Rouge's eyes glistened over with a sad gaze as she stared up at the ceiling. Silence permeated the air in the room for a moment. Well, save for the impatient tapping of Sonic's foot after he stood back up. She rolled over on her better side, her back facing Sonic. "... Shadow's life depends on this..." With that, she removed her right arm from under the bed. In her grip was the Steel Saber that she had fought to gain control over from Forge.

Sonic just stood there, totally dumbstruck as to how she got hold of the blade he had seen the police had confiscate. Of course, this only provoked the most predictable of questions for that moment. "Where the **HELL** did you get that!"

Rouge smirked weakly as she set the blade down beside her on the bed. "I told you, I beat the God of Steel... He was using the blade as a catalyst so that he could possess others and get to me... I've been collecting these items for someone, you see..."

Over the next hour, the Bat Girl explained exactly how everything had happened. From how the E-Series Security Robots invaded her Casino and Omega came, saved her, and delivered the message from Abaddon, to how she had learned first hand exactly how powerful Shadow's captor, Abaddon the Hedgehog, truly was. In the end, Sonic was left speechless for a good 5 minutes. Not one syllable escaped either of the two's lips. Sonic stared seriously towards the floor, his fists clenched. "So that's his game, huh...? ... Rouge, give me the sword."

The Bat Girl, who had sat up once more by this time, gazed sadly to Sonic. "What possible use could you have for the Steel Saber?"

Sonic smirked a bit, pointing his thumb at himself while the back of his other hand was pressed against his side in a half-fist. "I'll play Delivery-Hog this time. From what you tell me, you have to get it to him today, right? I could get it to Prison Island in no time flat. Just leave it all up to me while you heal."

Rouge grinned a bit, shaking her head softly. "Thanks, Sonic, but it's pointless. I don't think he'd let Shadow live unless I showed up with the Steel Saber. He's a sadistic son of a bitch, and he apparently gets off to seeing me suffer over Shadow..." She grit her teeth as she grabbed her IV and ripped it out of her arm, sending a few droplets of blood flying onto the sheets of her bed and across the floor. She pulled herself to the edge of the bed and stepped down. Almost immediately, she stumbled forward. Fortunately, Sonic was there to catch her.

"Rouge, I don't think he'll care. He's in this for the items. As long as he gets them, I doubt it'll make a difference!"

Rouge shook her head angrily as she hollered. "YOU DON'T GET IT! IT'S GOT TO BE ME!" She pushed herself away from Sonic and landed roughly on the cold hospital floor, her head sunk low. She shook softly as she held back angry tears, her fists clenched tightly. "H... he's helped me out of more than my fair share of troubles, I have to do this for him... I can't just abandon Shadow!"

Sonic sighed, looking at her sadly. His feelings and better judgement were at battle. His feelings were telling him the right thing to do would be to get Rouge out and take her along with him. But his better judgement was smacking him in the face with the painful truth that he would be jeopardizing her health if he brought her along at her condition. He sighed, scratching his head between his ears as he thought on it for a moment. With one heavy sigh, he grinned. "Fine... but no complaining about the pain, okay?" His attention shifted to the room's door as it burst open. Amy and Tails were currently making feeble attempts to keep Omega from pushing through them to try and keep him out of the room. Knuckles followed close behind.

Rouge blinked a bit, sort of surprised to see her two teammates forcing their way in. Following not long after were Cream and Cheese. Cream wasted no time jumping over the bed and landing on her knees beside Rouge. "Ms. Rouge! Are you alright! We just heard you'd woken up, and Mr. Knuckles said that you were really hurt a few days ago, and Cheese and I haveve been really, really worried! Is there anything we can do for you!"

Knuckles crossed his arms, grinning a bit. "Who said that you were allowed to get yourself beaten to Hell like this? We've still got a lot to do, and we need you to do it. I mean, I had to go pick up Omega myself, you know what kind of paperwork I had to do just to get them to let me turn him on?"

Omega, by now, had lifted Amy and Tails out of it's way and dropped them on the bed. It then pushed it's way past Knuckles and Sonic and lifted Rouge onto his shoulder. "Time remaining to deliver the Steel Saber, 7 hours, 1 minute, 27.3 seconds and counting. We must proceed to Prison Island immediately."

Sonic grinned a bit, snapping his fingers. "No problem. With my speed, I can get Rouge to Prison Island in absolutely no time flat."

Omega's body shifted to face Sonic promptly, clicking and whirring. "High speed travel is highly discouraged. The velocities Sonic travels at his maximum could quite possibly rip open the repairations upon Rouge's body and prompt profuse bleeding. Travel by jet is highly recommended. If we depart within the hour, we will arrive within 5 minutes of the end of the time limit in the worst case scenario."

Knuckles nodded to Omega, lifting Cream up onto his shoulders. Once he had her safely on top of him, he grasped the Steel Saber off Rouge's bed and turned towards the door. "Alright then, let's get going. We haven't got a second to lose!" Just as he started off, Sonic's hand shot up right infront of his face, bringing the Guardian to a halt. He glared to Sonic, grasping his arm, threatening to break it. "Don't stop me, Sonic, we're doing this whether you like it or not!"

Sonic smirked a bit at Knuckles, breaking the grip on his arm and bopping Knuckles between the eyes with his index and middle fingers faster than he could register what had happened. "Hey, I never said you couldn't go. But I'm GOING to say that you're not leaving without me. With Rouge out, you might need an extra hand finding these last 4 items."

Amy, who had long since gotten back up on her feet after being dropped on the bed, crossed her arms and stepped up behind Sonic. "I'm coming too. I don't know exactly what's happening here, but I know when something big's going on, and you guys aren't leaving me out of anything this serious."

Tails remained sitting on the bed, giving a thumbs up to the rest of the group. "Where ever Sonic goes to help, I'm right behind. Count me in 100!"

Rouge's eyes widened as she listened to the offers of support from the others. She grinned a bit and scratched the back of her head. "I guess that settles it then. We're going to do this together! Come on, let's get going!"

* * *

Me: And there you have it. 7 characters, folks! Pick yer favorite of the lot, they're in there!

Megaman.EXE: What about that Dr. Eggman guy?

Me: ... um, yeah... 'bout that...

Edward Elric: You never planned on having him in the story, did you?

Me: #Sweatdrops# Well, I thought about it...

Sanosuke Sagara: Just not very much...

Rouge: What's with all the gratuitous cameos...?

Me: I'm starting to wonder that myself.

Shadow: You're the AUTHOR, you're supposed to know these things!

Me: I know, I know!

Everyone: THEN WHY DON'T YOU!

Me - I JUST DON'T, NOW GET OVER IT! Now get back to yer own shows or comics or games or whatever before I get yer creators to beat you back with an eraser! #Sighs a bit and smiles# Well folks, that does it for this chapter. Let's see how I juggle 7 characters around next chapter. Until then, take care!


	14. A New Condition

**Distant Shadows Chapter 14 - A New Condition**

Rouge: I can't believe this...

Cream: I'm at a loss for words...

Amy: Tails TOTALLY called it last chapter...

Sonic: Called what now?

Eggman: That your crummy author would take so long for the next chapter... Hey... I'm in this... HI MOM! #Dragged off camera by 2 big hairy men named Butch and Bubba#

Knuckles: You win the bet Shadow. #Forks over $50 to the black Hedgehog#

Shadow: I told you he's enough of a deadbeat author to hold it off like this... #Grins and counts his money#

Me: #Grumbles as he types up the chapter# Maybe I should LET the Writer's Block hang next time...

* * *

Abaddon sat silently, looking at a clock hanging off the wall in his office, one of the few rooms spared from the wrath of Shadow's Chaos Nightmare the previous week. The sounds of construction equipment outside his door were ringing through his ears. A smirk spread across his lips as the clock marked the final 10 minutes before the deadline. _'Still not here... No matter. Even if they don't show, I always have my back-up plans.'_ With a sigh, he reclined in his chair, bringing his boot-clad feet atop the desk before him. Although normally calm and reserved, he couldn't help but be a little anxious. It wasn't every day that items of unfathomable power just fell into your grasp thanks to a patch of sentimental fools who actually cared for their captive teammate. 

His eyebrow perked as the intercom on the desk buzzed. He slowly brought his legs down from the desk and set his feet to the floor, leaning forward and pressing a single red button on the intercom with white letters above it that read 'transmit'. "What is it?"

Through the intercom came an automated voice belonging to one of his hundreds of Eggman Drones. "Two objects are approaching Prison Island. Scanners indicate an air vehicle, and a biological organism approaching at speeds equivalent to the jet."

Abaddon's eyes widened as he heard this. He stood suddenly, his quickly straightening legs knocking over the chair behind him. His index finger was now digging into the transmit button on the intercom. A look of irritation had adorned itself upon his face as he stood in silence. After contemplating the situation in silence, a grin crept across his lips, replacing the grimace. "Heheheh... is that so...? Thank you for the update. Resume your original duties now..." Abaddon tilted his head from side to side, causing his neck to crack and snap. _'You've just made this that much easier, Bat…'

* * *

_

Sonic came to a screeching halt, sending small pieces of rubble bouncing across the ground as a cloud of dust rose behind his frame. He looked to his side at the government jet, already settled on the ground. The door opened from the top and descended towards the ground, revealing a set of stairs built upon the inside of the door. Almost immediately after it touched firmly upon the ground, it's occupants filed out with great haste. Rouge was the first, carrying the Steel Saber firmly in hand. She rushed across the area towards the plainly visible crater left by the Chaos Nightmare. Of course the pain brought on by her lingering injuries was quite apparent, thoroughly demonstrated by the minor limp in each of her movements. Instead of succumbing to the pain, though, she pushed through it, focusing her mind solely on her objective. Following behind her were Knuckles, then Omega, Amy, Tails, even Cream and Cheese. All of them were there for the same reason, to secure Shadow's safety and come one step closer to freeing him from his captor's clutches.

Abaddon stood at the crater, watching as the team of 8 made their way towards him. He flexed his clawed fingers back and forth beneath his cloak, half-expecting them to try and attack him. This time, his hood was down. He felt it pointless to hide his identity this far into the game. With a twisted smile, he took a few steps towards the group of so-called 'heroes'. "Well, well, well, you made it! With seconds to spare, no less! I was beginning to wonder if something had ha---"

Suddenly, the Steel Saber was launched straight from Rouge's arm with the full force of her throwing ability behind it, coming to a halt in the ground right between his legs. A fiery glare was in her eyes as she stormed forward, coming to a stop not 3 feet from his face. "CAN IT, ASS HOLE!"

Abaddon stood there, his eyes wide. Alongside being shocked that she had the nerve to pull such a stunt, he had just flat out never expected it from her to begin with. He believed that with the deck stacked in his favor, she wouldn't dare try anything that would risk the well-being of the so-called 'Ultimate Life Form'. He growled at the Bat Girl, the crimson retinas of his eyes beginning to flash slightly. "You have a lot of nerve to try and pull this with the one who's holding the object of your affections in his claws...!"

Rouge crossed her arms indignantly, her latex-clad fingers digging into her bare upper arms. "Don't you remember? I am an Expert Treasure Hunter, and I can proudly say I AM the best. I'd like to see you try and replace me if something were to happen..."

Abaddon chuckled, grasping the saber by the handle. He ripped it forcefully out of the ground, looking over it carefully as particles of dust rolled off the blade. "Ah, yes... true, true... but there are thousands of your type in the world... The majority of them would just settle for a fat paycheck, wouldn't you agree...?" He quickly swung the saber out, stopping it right next to the Bat Girl's neck. Although this brought the rest of the group into their battle stances, the Bat girl stood her ground, not budging an inch. Abaddon snickered softly, lowering the blade. "Good, good... It's good to know that something like that doesn't faze you... Things are going to get much tougher from here on out, especially with the new conditions..."

Knuckles glared at Abaddon spitefully, his fists balled up, forcing himself to keep from lashing out at the sadistic Silver Hedgehog. "What 'new conditions'...? You can't just change it this far in!"

Abaddon snickered again, making his way towards a nearby wall that stood alone amidst the rubble. "Ah, but I can. You see, I have everything I need to assure that you do exactly as I say. I say 'Jump', you say 'How High?', basically things of that nature..." He turned and leaned his back against the wall, letting the tip of the saber's blade rest on a large concrete chunk of the original prison. "Now... it's quite obvious that your little group has grown significantly in this past week. It's so 'nice' to see such teamwork..." Sarcasm oozed from his lips as the word 'nice' came across them. He shut his eyes, tilting his head in a manner that he could fully face the sky. "But now... if all of you were to work together on every mission, why, things would go far too quickly. The fun in this entire event would vanish, totally ceasing to exist!"

Amy stepped forward, stopping just a little past Rouge as she raised her fist in the air. "FUN! You call taking Shadow prisoner and forcing Rouge, Knuckles and Omega to do your dirty work 'fun'!"

"Why yes, yes I do Ms. Rose..." Amy's eyes widened as the sound of Abaddon's voice emitted from directly behind her. She drew her Piko Piko Hammer and spun around, ready to swing. Instead, she found Tails, who had originally been standing behind her. She glanced over her shoulder again, only to find the Silver hedgehog standing with his back against the same wall in the exact same spot. She looked back to where she had heard his voice. Judging by the expressions the rest of the group wore, he had most definitely made his appearance behind her, if only for an instant.

Abaddon grinned, standing up from his position on the wall as he made his way forward in a very casual manner. "Now... before I was so rudely interrupted... I've decided to break you all into teams of my choosing... There are going to be four teams of two, one for each of the remaining artifacts. IF you can manage to reach one another by some inconceivable means, you may join teams or switch members, whatever pleases you. As long as I get my items, I don't really care."

Sonic raised a hand in the air as he stepped forward, coming to a stop right before Abaddon. "Look, pal, incase you haven't noticed, we're kind of short-handed. There aren't enough of us here to make four teams of two."

Abaddon walked past Sonic, wearing a sickening smirk. "Oh, but there ARE, Hedgehog. There are..." He pushed his way through the rest of the group, even brushing Omega and his enormous metallic frame aside as if he were nothing. The demented Hedgehog came to a stop before Cream and Cheese. "That Chao... it counts as the 8th member."

Rouge's eyes widened at this declaration. "**_WHAT!_**" Her hand shot out towards him as if it were a bullet fired from a gun, trying to grasp him by his cloak. The sudden jerk painfully ripped at the stitches still in her body, especially those caused by Abaddon's claw marks and the Steel Saber. She dropped to one knee, trying to breathe as the crippling pain left her paralyzed and breathless upon the ground. Amy and Tails knelt at her side to give her whatever help they could, wearing expressions of concern.

Abaddon glanced over his shoulder at the Bat Girl, smirking a bit. "Hn, you've taken quite a beating, haven't you...? Don't tell me you've forgotten about the Chaos Emerald that I sent with Omega. That was meant to help piece you back together after you dealt with the Chaos Gamma Copies that I sent into your club..."

Rouge's eyes flared up with rage as she heard this. "You son of a...!" Before she could move, Tails and Amy gripped her shoulders and held her in current position, knowing that the extra strain on her body was the absolute last thing she needed. It took her a moment, but Rouge eventually calmed herself. She sighed, standing up, keeping a fixed glare upon the Silver Hedgehog. "... I don't care... my club can be repaired... but I'll be damned before you send a child and her Chao off on their own! Especially on missions like these! You know damned well how dangerous that this whole ordeal!"

Abaddon sneered at the Bat Girl, suddenly appearing right in her face, literally nose to nose with her. "You don't have a choice in the matter. Either the Rabbit and Chao head off on their own, or else I give the order to terminate the Black Hedgehog here and now. And don't think I'll stop just there. I've done my studies on every last one of you pathetic creatures. I know who and what you hold dear, and I could easily have everything obliterated with just a single word... Now, are you going to follow orders like a good girl, or not?"

Before Rouge could speak another word, there was a tug at her hand. She looked down, finding her eyes on Cream and Cheese.

"Ms. Rouge, it's alright. We don't want to cause any trouble. And besides, Cheese and I have protected one another under similar conditions before. This won't be the first time we faced trouble alone..." The Rabbit Girl reassured her with a soft smile, accompanied by one from her currently silent Chao.

Rouge's eyes softened as she knelt down before Cream. In what seemed to be a built in reaction to the child's words, she embraced her tightly, her eyes beginning to water as she spoke in a whisper. "Cream... Cheese... I'm so sorry to have gotten you dragged into this... Please, you don't have to do this. There has to be something else we can work out..."

Cream, who at first was taken off guard by the hug, returned the Bat Girl's embrace, shutting her eyes as she rested her head against Rouge's shoulder. "Ms. Rouge... it's alright. I promise, we'll come back. We made a promise to you, and to Mommy..."

Rouge remained silent for a moment after this, sniffing once or twice. She then pulled back, her hands resting on Cream's shoulders. "Thank you... You're a really brave little girl..."

"If you don't mind, can we get on with this now?" Abaddon stood there impatiently, drumming his fingers on his currently crossed arms. "Alright, again, this is how it's going to work. The eight of you are going to be broken off into teams of two. There are four items left, four teams, so that means each team goes for one item. There's going to be a time limit of 3 weeks this time. Here are the teams, and the items you're going to be gathering. The first team, Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose the Hedgehog, you will search in the Aquatic Ruin Zone for the Redwood Chest Plate. You will be Team Forest."

Sonic groaned just slightly as he heard this, looking to the side as Amy wrapped both of her arms around just one of his. It was bad enough he was with AMY of all people, but being forced into that water-filled forest again was not something he particularly reveled in. While Sonic grumbled to himself about being a victim of circumstance, the pink Hedgehog clinging to his arm smiled and stared dreamily at him. "The team name sucks, but it's no big deal if we're working together, right?"

Abaddon growled slightly, brushing that minor insult off. "Anyhooow... Rouge, you and Miles, 'Tails' as he's so befittingly nicknamed, will be teamed together as Team Air. Your goal is in the Sky Sanctuary above Angel Island. The item in name is the Gale Helmet."

Rouge's eyes narrowed right at Abaddon as her hands came to rest upon her hips. "Fine. We can handle that easily." Tails gave a solemn nod, walking right to Rouge's side. "We'll have the helmet in no time."

Abaddon nodded, shifting his gaze to Knuckles. "You, Guardian. You and the machine, Omega as you call it, will make up Team Earth. You will head to the Sandopolis Zone. You should be familiar with it. Items are the Gaia Gauntlets. Make sure you don't bury yourselves along with them, though..."

Knuckles punched his fists together, holding them level with his chest in that position. "Fine. You'll have them in no time..." Omega raised it's right arm into the air and clenched it's metallic fingers into a fist of it's own. "Affirmative."

Abaddon smirked confidently, pushing past the others once more before he came to a halt before Cream. He knelt down, bringing his index finger up to rest under her chin as his thumb came to stop on her cheek. The little Rabbit froze, her eyes wide, showing ample amounts of fear, but not without matching quantities of determination. "And you, child... You and your little pet will be off to the Star Light Zone as Team Light. Your item is the Radiant Shield. I'd be careful, though, who knows what kind of monsters and terrors await you..."

Cream stood her ground firmly, taking a deep breath as she spoke. "I... I'll be brave... and I won't let a horrible man like you, or anything that you have to say, scare me..."

Abaddon snickered softly, standing and pulling his hand from the child's face. He looked around at the rest of the group, his arms vanishing beneath his cloak. "Any questions?"

Sonic's hand shot up, a sly grin on his face. "I got one. Why do you suck so badly at thinking up team names?"

Although this brought a chuckle out of everyone, save for Omega of course. Abaddon's eyes lit up as he hollered at the top of his lungs. **"YOU HAVE YOUR DAMNABLE TEAM NAMES AND OBJECTIVES, DEAL WITH IT!"**

This silenced everyone, sending chills down each and every last one of their spines. Abaddon's eyes glowed furiously, totally enveloping the black scleras. "You have your missions, now get the Hell out of here before I cut the time limit from three weeks to one! **MOVE!**" Having spoken, his shadow shot out of the ground and enveloped him, quickly fading from sight.

Sonic sighed, nodding to the others. "Let's get a move on. We haven't got time to waste..." With that, the teams headed towards the jet, each to be dropped off at their respective locations. The final hours had begun, and the fate of Shadow's life, now more than ever, was in the balance.

* * *

Me: Next chapter's coming up soon. 

Shadow: Can we trust that...?

Me: I have 6 weeks off now that my college finals are over, dude. I think I can squeeze in a few chapters.

Rouge:Uh-huh, sure. Keep telling yourself that.

Me: Can't I get ANY credibility here?

Everyone: #Silence#

Me: Wow, thanks a LOT you guys... Anyhow readers, hope ya'll liked how this puppy turned out. More to come soon! I PROMISE!


	15. Too Late to Say, Part 1

**Distant Shadows Chapter 15 – Too Late to Say, Part One **

Author: Alright, straight down to business.

Rouge: 6 weeks of break and you've hardly done anything. You're SO responsible...

Author: Cram it you winged rat. Where college failed, Work has picked up.

Rouge: Even so...!

Author: Do you want me to write or not! Sit'cher fuzzy ass down and get ready!

* * *

Sonic and Amy walked side by side through the Aquatic Ruin Zone. It had been two days since they were dropped off while the others went off on each of their respective missions.

This had been quite the lesson for Sonic in how large the zone truly was. The last time he was in the zone, he was merely following the path of Dr. Eggman in an attempt to stop him from launching the Death Egg, protect all seven Chaos Emeralds, and restore all the animals to their natural forms from their robotic shells for the second time. Out of nowhere, he heaved a heavy sigh, his arms crossed firmly over his chest. "I really, REALLY hate this place..."

Amy raised an eyebrow as she heard this for about the dozenth time just that day alone. She sighed, coming to a halt and turning on her heel to face the object of her affections, wearing a playful smile. "Oh, come on Sonic. It's not that bad... So what if you can't swim? Just don't go in the water."

The blue hedgehog merely cupped his forehead in one hand, groaning a little bit. "I'd love to, Amy, but there are tons of places here waterlogged for miles, like that one we just got past yesterday. Do you know how many times I've almost drowned here?"

Amy smirked a little bit, walking right up in front of Sonic. As she came to a dead halt before the blue hero, she leaned forward, coming within inches of his face with her own. "Don't tell me you're whining now."

Sonic came to an immediate stop as a slightly nervous expression decorated his face. He blushed, turning his gaze to the remains of an old Grounder unit, rusted and decaying as it lay half-submerged in the waters. "W, well..."

Amy giggled a little, giving him a tender pat on the cheek. "I'm only playing! Jeez, you're all nerves... Don't worry, if anything happens, I'll just jump in after you and save you myself. Then you can owe me a date." She stuck her tongue out playfully after she spoke, winking simultaneously at him.

Sonic couldn't help but grin at the thought. He chuckled a little bit, his arms falling to his sides as he walked on past her. "Well then, I'd better'd be sure not to fall in."

Amy huffed as she heard this, her arms swiftly crossing over her chest. "HEY, that wasn't very nice!" She quickly picked up her pace to catch up with the blue hedgehog, unable to help but giggle slightly. It wasn't the best place, or under the best conditions considering what was at stake, but she was enjoying the time alone with the one she loved so dearly.

* * *

By sunset, Amy sighed heavily, wiping some sweat from her brow onto the back of one of her white-gloved hands. "All day, and still nothing... This is so stupid! We must've covered miles of this forest by now, and there's not a trace of that, that THING we're looking for!"

Sonic glanced over his shoulder to the frustrated pink Hedgehog, wearing a confident smile. "Relax, Amy. We've still got over another two weeks to find the item. As long as we don't overlook anything, we'll get the item and get back to Prison Island ourselves. Then it'll just be a matter of the others doing their part. Now come on, let's find shelter for the night."

Amy groaned, sulking a bit. _'What I wouldn't give for a nice hot bath and my bed right now…'_ She walked forward slowly, dragging her feet against the ground along the way. She was tired and sore. She was used to just running through areas, jumping over obstacles and generally ending it as quickly as possible. Instead, there she was, taking a slow, torturous walk through a forest, looking for an item that may not even be there anymore. "This just can't get any worse..." As if cued by the words that just passed from her lips, her leg sank into the muddy ground, absorbing her up to her knee. This tipped her off balance and sent her crashing face first into the mud. She coughed and raised herself up, spitting out some of the muck. "PTH! Aauuughh, gross!" She swiftly wiped the mud off her eyes and onto the back of her hand, her other hand propping her up on some stone object, grasping it firmly.

Sonic turned as he heard the fall, only to be welcomed by the sight of the filthy pink Hedgehog. He sighed, walking back to her and crouching down. "Hey, are you alright? Looks like you took one heck of a spill."

Amy looked up to Sonic out the top of her eyes. Her cheeks, although concealed by the thick brown gunk on her face, were about as red as her dress from the embarrassment. "Y... yeah..." She blinked, feeling the stone object she was holding shift to the side, followed soon after by a click. She gazed down, removing her hand from it as she brought herself to sit on her knees. Her eyes widened at what she saw. "It's a switch! Sonic, maybe this thing's connected with---" Before she could continue, the ground began to rumble. Right where she sat, it started to split in a perfectly straight line. She quickly dove forward, landing next to Sonic, just out of range of the moving ground.

Sonic gazed down into the crack as it expanded into a massive hole, his own eyes wide at the sight before him. Walls, crafted of a yellow and brown stone, covered with moss and ancient hieroglyphs. Extending out from the walls was a staircase, leading down farther than the remaining daylight could reach. He turned his attention to Amy, practically grinning from ear to ear. "Looks like we have a little bit more to check out before we call it quits for the night..."

Amy groaned, sulking again as she heard this. Then, something clicked. The sooner they got the item, the sooner she could get home. The sooner she got home, the sooner she could relax and actually enjoy her life again. Suddenly, she jumped to her feet, brushing what mud she could off of her body. "Let's get something that glows and get on down there, Sonic! We have a chest plate to find!"

* * *

Unfortunately for Amy, they had nothing, nor could find anything, that produced any form of light. So, in the end, they resigned to their only option; wait until the next day to explore the ruins. The only thing that seemed in good fortune for the young lady was that there was a decent shelter in a different ruin, made up of various collapsed pillars and trees. Amy had long since given in to exhaustion and fallen asleep.

Sonic, on the other hand, was wide-awake, gazing at a nearly full moon glowing in the evening sky. There was too much on his mind for him to sleep. Shadow's kidnapping, Abaddon, the items, none of it seemed right. Something in him told him that there was far more to this than meets the eye. He sighed, looking to Amy, who had curled up in a little ball on a pile of dry leaves he had gathered to make a bed. He smiled a little bit, rising to his feet as he walked from the makeshift shelter and out into the open. "... I just know it... something bad is going to happen, something worse than anything we've ever dealt with before..."

* * *

The next day, Sonic and Amy wasted no time. As soon as there was enough daylight, they made their way down the stairs into the ruin. Overnight, the waters had risen, spilling over into the hole and thoroughly soaking the stairs. Both were careful, making sure not to rush down so as not to end up falling head first to the inevitable bottom. After about 15 minutes of careful stepping on the aged stone steps, they touched down at what seemed to be the base of the ruin.

Amy groaned a little bit, feeling around a wall she had come against cautiously. There was barely any light that far down, and even then it was all pouring directly down from the shaft, hardly extending any farther than that. This left the two poking around in total darkness "Sonic, have you found anything!"

"Yeah, I think it's an old torch!" He quickly turned to face the stairs they had descended from, walking slowly towards them with the unlit torch in hand. Having thought ahead, he brought two dry sticks down into the hole with him, having assumed there would be something of this nature within. He knelt down as soon as he entered the dimly lit section of the room. He knelt down and began to grind the sticks together, setting the torch next to them. It took a few moments even with Sonic's speed, but he eventually got a flame to ignite on the sticks. From there, it simply passed onto the torch, illuminating their dark surroundings. He stood with it firmly in hand, holding it upright. "Alright, this should work for us for now."

Sonic and Amy wasted no time, making their way into the depths of the ruins through a long, empty tunnel, sharing the flame of their torch with each of the other torches they would pass along the way to make sure they were not left entirely in the dark on the return trip. One hour, two hours, it made no difference. With not even the Sun's light to guide them, they had no idea how long they were down there. But after what seemed like an eternity, something finally changed. They came to pass through a door way and stopped.

"Where are we...?", Amy asked, only to hear her voice fire through the room. No doubt, it was big. VERY big, considering the size of the echo that had returned.

Sonic shrugged softly. "We should probably find that out..." He gazed to his right side, finding another torch. This one seemed different than the others, as it possessed a faint silver glow. He stared for a moment, then merely shrugged, wasting no more time in lighting the other torch. The flame sparked and began to quake. Then, the inconceivable happened. A small fireball floated out of the newly lit torch, hovering for a second before it fired off, leaving a burning trail through the air as it struck torch after torch after torch, lighting about ten new ones with every passing second. The two Hedgehogs continued to watch until it came back in their direction. Just as they were about to jump out of the way, the fireball stopped on the torch right next to Amy, hovering once more before it descended into the flame and vanished. It now seemed as if the Sun were pouring into the dome at the peak of the day. With the new light came a perfect view of the area they were in. It looked to be an ancient arena of sorts. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of seats formed a circle around a single field filled with grass, trees, and water.

Amy stood in awe at the sight before her, merely staring at it. This was an unbelievable sight to behold. She turned her gaze to Sonic, confusion melded with the look of amazement. "Sonic, don't plants need sun light to grow, though? What was it, that Photo... um, photo..."

Sonic chuckled a little bit at her attempt to remember the word. "Photosynthesis, Amy. But, you do have a point... if anything, it's probably the work of the item that Abaddon wants us to get for him..." He knelt down and set his torch on the ground, knowing well it was unnecessary now that the dozens of other torches more than compensated for the one. He gazed around the arena in silence, observing his surroundings before he turned his eyes towards his companion. "There aren't any other doors here, so I suppose that just leaves us with that mini-forest down there. Let's go check it out."

* * *

It took them almost no time to get into the forest and, befittingly enough, get themselves lost. From the outside, the forest looked to be SO much smaller. But after a time, they could only question if they had seen the wood for what it truly was.

Amy groaned, dropping to her knees with her head cocked back towards the treetops concealing the roof of the ruins from sight. "Oooohhh, this so frustrating! We've been wandering around forever, and we haven't even found the edge of this thing!"

Sonic turned around and sighed, making his way to Amy as he knelt down and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, relax. We'll get out of here soon enough, I promise..."

Amy turned her attention to Sonic, wearing a pout on her face. She sighed soon after, looking down at the grassy ground. "I know, but... this doesn't make any sense. How is it possible for something that looked so tiny on the outside to be so enormous! We haven't even been wandering in circles, nothing's looked the same at all! It makes absolutely no sense..."

Sonic nodded softly, glancing over his shoulder as he gazed at the forest around them. "Yeah. I've noticed that too..." He sighed and stood up, placing his hands on his hips as he shut his eyes, receding to his thoughts. After a few moments of silence, he nodded to himself, smiling down at the pink Hedgehog. "Alright, let's call it a night, whatever time it is... We'll get some sleep and then pick up where we left off after we wake up, okay?"

Amy nodded softly, sighing once more. "Right... I'm sorry, Sonic, I'm just holding you back..."

Sonic shook his head, seating himself upon a large tree root nearby. "Nah, don't worry about it. Look, let's just get some sleep now and worry about the item later..."

* * *

Sleep they did, but for how long? Neither of the two could say. This was no doubt a consequence of being hundreds of feet below the Earth with not a trace of daylight to speak of. After an unspecified amount of time, Amy moaned gently, her eyes fluttering open, awoken by strange noise. She rubbed her eyes wearily and sat up, propping herself up with one arm. She removed her hand from her eyes, gazing around silently. Nothing. The only other person nearby was Sonic, sleeping soundly upon the same root. She sighed softly, shaking her head with a soft smile. _'Get a grip on yourself and go back to sleep, girl...'_ Just as she was about to do that, a much louder noise echoed through the forest. Her eyes widened as she jumped to her feet, drawing her Piko Piko Hammer just incase the need to defend herself arose.

Apparently, the noise was enough to stir Sonic this time, as he sat up, eyes half open. He yawned loudly before gazing to Amy, raising an eyebrow at the pink Hedgehog. "Amy, what's up? Why do you have your hammer out?"

"I heard something... but I don't know wh---" She was cut off as the noise shot through the air once more. It was a thunderous crashing noise, and it was close. She spun around hastily and faced Sonic, her eyes widening at the sight before her. Looming above Sonic was a dragon, an actual one hundred percent genuine dragon. Judging by the position of it's body, it was at least three stories tall on all fours. It's skin was composed of amber and tree bark, fused together to make a sturdy shell. Although barely visible amongst the rest of the foliage, wings made of various types of leaves and tree fibers were spread to their maximum wingspan of well over 20 feet. Emerald green eyes gazed at Amy viciously before focusing upon it's closest target, Sonic. It opened it's mouth, emitting an earth-shattering roar. This immediately brought the Blue Hedgehog's attention to it just in time to observe at least eight different tentacle-like objects flying at him at an incredible speed. He was only barely able to get to his feet and clear them as they crashed into the root he was sitting upon, reducing it to splinters. As the long objects slowly removed themselves from the ground and the remains of the root, their identities became clear. Small, thin roots, sharpened to a needlepoint.

Amy narrowed her eyes, gripping her hammer tightly as she drew it back, prepared to swing. "Sonic... am I going crazy...?"

"If you are, then so'm I, because I'm seeing this thing the same as you..."

The dragon let out another ear-splitting roar before letting loose with another root assault, now over two dozen firing not only from it's mouth, but it's neck as well, aimed at both of the Hedgehogs.

Fortunately for those two particular Hedgehogs, they were exceedingly fast. Both of them were able to dodge the assaults, weaving in and out of each individual root. Amy wasted no time taking the offensive afterwards. She charged forward and bound into the air, flipping forward to gain momentum just before she slammed her Piko Piko Hammer at full force into the dragon's head, effectively knocking it off balance. This was soon followed by a spin dash from the blue hero, burrowing into it's head and leaving a large gash in it's skull.

The dragon screeched as Sonic bored into it's skull, shaking it's head violently, effectively knocking the hedgehog to the ground, but not before drenching him in it's blood. This blood, though, was not the common red liquid found in most living beings. In fact, it was tree sap, thick, gooey tree sap, spraying all over the ground and thoroughly coating the hedgehog.

Much to Sonic's misfortune, he landed on a large, flat stone. The sap stuck fast, trapping him on the slab. He was helpless. He gazed to the dragon out the corner of his eyes, staring as it regained it's bearings and glared directly at him with murderous intent, it's roots raising and starting to twirl together to form one massive spear. _'Shit! I can't get free! And that thing doesn't look like it's in the mood to play around...!'_ His attention snapped from the dragon as he felt something rain down upon his body, followed by a firm pull. He turned his head as much as he could, only to find Amy Rose pulling desperately, trying to free him from where he was bound. _'I get it, she's using the dirt to keep the sap from sticking to her as she pulls!'_

As the dragon roared again, Amy only pulled harder, her teeth grit and her eyes shut tight. "Damn…! This stuff's stuck fast!"

"Amy, forget about it! Just get out of here, find the chest plate and go! I can handle myself!"

"Forget it! I'm not going to abandon you, Sonic, and you're an idiot for thinking that I would!" With one final powerful pull, she ripped Sonic free of the rock, flinging him onto a nearby patch of soil.

Sonic hit the ground hard, rolling for a few feet as the fresh soil covered his body, nullifying the adhesive effects of the sap. He found himself able to move again and quickly rose to his hands and knees. "Thanks AaaaaAAMY! WATCH OUT BEHIND YOU!"

Amy's eyes widened the instant she heard Sonic's warning. She turned around, drawing her Piko Piko Hammer out once more as she saw the enormous, spear-like root coming at her. She immediately thrust forward instead of swinging, meeting the root directly with the center of the hammer in a powerful clash. To her own surprise, she was holding her own, countering the power of the root spear perfectly. This, though, did not last. The dragon stepped forward, throwing it's body weight behind the attack. The root knocked Amy's hammer out of the way, sending it flying through the air as the pink Hedgehog stumbled backwards.

Sonic could only watch in horror at what happened next. Time seemed to slow to a near stop as the root drew closer and closer to the falling pink Hedgehog. Then, in a single stroke, it pierced through her gut and shot out her back. Everything seemed to freeze for that instant for Sonic and Amy, that one instant lasting for an eternity as the image burned into both of their minds. And then, almost as quickly as it seemed to freeze, time started again. The root slammed Amy into the ground, pinning her to the stone she had just freed Sonic from. The force of the blow sent a large amount of blood spurting from her mouth, splattering onto her and the ground around her head. She was silent, only twitching slightly as she lied there.

Sonic only stared for a moment, not moving a muscle as he took in the gravity of the moment, trying to comprehend exactly what had happened. Then, he did the only thing a person in his position could do...

He screamed.

* * *

Author: And here we have another one-month wonder!

Rouge: Expect the next chapter by March, folks.

Sonic: You pull some crap like this and expect readers to wait until March!

Author: Actually, I can't either. I intend to put up the conclusion to this little chapter as soon as possible!

Sonic: ... so you're really gonna continue?

Author: Well we can't end a chapter on this note and leave the readers wondering. Things like that start wars!

Sonic: Or a lower fanbase...

Author: Hard to decide which would be worse. Later folks!


	16. Too Late to Say, Part 2

**Distant Shadows Chapter 16 – Too Late to Say, Part Two**

Tails: He's on a roll again.

Shadow: It won't roll very far.

Author: Oh, cute you two. REAL cute. Why don't you get a room or somethin'? #Clubbed with a brick#

Rouge: #Drops the crumbling brick# Oh shut up and write...

Author: Yess'm...

* * *

"**AAAAAAAAAAMMMMYYYYYYYYYYY!"**, screamed the a now infuriated blue Hedgehog. He leapt up to his feet and began to spin rapidly in the air, moving faster than ever in his life. With a rage-filled battle cry, he flew forward, careening towards the root spear that had just impaled Amy Rose. In a single pass, he cut straight through it. At the speed he was moving, the sap from the roots couldn't even touch him. He didn't stop there, though. He was a ball of emotions now, and he was letting the dragon feel every one as he began ricochet off of trees, rocks, the ground, anything he could, firing over and over again through various points in the massive reptile's body, riddling it's enormous frame with holes, tearing it apart piece by piece. For a full three minutes, he attacked, and attacked, and attacked, until finally, he tore a final hole, one of many, straight through the dragon's neck, decapitating it. He came to a halt as the head crashed on the ground next to him, soon followed by the thunderous sound of the corpse collapsing in a heap on the forest floor behind him. The beast was slain.

He was left breathless from running on for so long with that assault, but refused to rest. He pulled himself to his feet and rushed to Amy, a massive piece of the spear still stuck in her, pinning her down against rock. Despite the dead dragon's size, the spear that it had used to impale her was probably no bigger around than a softball. Even so, it had left a lethal wound. Sonic dropped to one knee, inspecting the barely conscious pink Hedgehog's wound. It was large, taking up most of her abdomen. "Oh God, Amy...!" He brought himself to his feet with great haste and wrapped his arms around the spear, planting his feet firmly into the cracked stone slab. Running purely off of the desire to free her so he could get medical attention, he began to pull. He pressed his forehead against the spear, feeling the remnants of the stone beneath his feet crack. He was going all out, holding nothing back. For over fifteen seconds, the spear refused to budge, holding fast in the ground. This didn't stop the blue Hero, though, it only made him that much more determined. "Amy... this might hurt, but please, bear with me for just a little longer, I'll get you out of here!"

Sonic knelt down, wrapping his arms around the spear as low as he possibly could. He began to pull again, growling as he did. This time, the spear shifted and began to give way. This was his chance. With one loud scream, he pulled with everything he had, standing up and ripping the root spear from the ground and out of Amy. He let it roll off to his right side, sending it crashing into the ground with a heavy thud. He dropped down to his knees next to the badly wounded pink Hedgehog, carefully sliding his hands under her back and head as he lifted her up. "Amy, Amy, can you hear me! Please, hold on!"

Amy hissed in pain as she felt her wound shift along with her upper body. Her eyes opened slowly, her gaze coming to rest upon the blue Hedgehog that she was so madly in love with. "S… onic... I... I'm... sorry... I me... messed up again..." She coughed as she spoke, sending droplets of blood flying from her mouth onto herself and the blue Hedgehog. Tears began to fill her eyes as she looked stared at him, wearing a weak smile. "I... I just... keep caus... ing trouble... for you..."

Sonic merely shook his head, fighting off tears of his own as he hugged her against his body. "No... no, you don't, Amy... come on, you're one of the greatest partners I've ever had..."

Amy could only muster a weak giggle, finding only enough strength in her body to lift her left arm and raise it towards Sonic, as if trying to grasp for him. "S... on... ic... do... you think... one day, when... when we're... married, we'll... we... we'll have kids...?"

Sonic could only freeze as he heard this question. He grit his teeth, lowering his head as his own body began to shake. He remained silent for a few seconds before raising his gaze, wearing a sad grin. "... yeah... we'll have a daughter, she'll be just as silly and sweet as you, Amy..." He shifted one arm behind her body to support her head and back as his other lifted from her back, in turn grabbing onto Amy's firmly.

Amy's eyes widened as she heard this. Her tears now flowed freely, rolling down her cheeks, falling against her dress and the blue Hedgehog's arm. She cringed in pain, arching her back a bit as a little blood forced it's way out her mouth and dribbled down her chin. She gazed to Sonic with tired eyes, her breath getting heavier and much more erratic, as if she was struggling to breathe at this point. "S... Sonic... I... I l... lo... ve..." Before she could even finish her sentence, she began to cough violently, sending surges of pain firing through her body.

Sonic held her as close as he could at this point, his eyes ridden with concern. "Amy, just relax... please, I, I don't want to see you hurting, just take it easy. We'll get you out of here, now!"

As Amy's coughing settled down, she took a deep breath. She could only smile weakly to Sonic now, her tired eyes speaking for her, finishing what she had started. With that same soft smile, she shut her eyes, and in his arms, fell limp, her grip fading away from Sonic's in an instant.

Sonic could only sit there, merely staring as his body began to quake. He slowly released Amy's hand, watching as it fell and came to rest draped across her body. Sonic wrapped both of his arms around Amy, beginning to give her gentle shakes. "Amy... Amy, please... Amy, get up, come on, this isn't funny!" No matter how he shook, no matter what he said, there was only one truth that he was forced to face. Amy Rose was dead.

Sonic grit his teeth as he embraced her lifeless body against his own, letting his head rest on her shoulder. Silently, tears began to flow, pouring down his cheeks, soaking into her clothes. _'Damn... Damn... Damn, damn DAMN DAMN IT ALL! Why didn't I ever tell her...! Why...?'_ He remained like this for well over an hour, mourning the loss of the once lively girl. He only cried, letting his tears flow freely until there were no more cry with. As the time passed, he pulled his head back, looking at her once more as he layed her down on the shattered stone. He stood up, wiping the remnants of his tears away on the back of his hand. He shut his eyes, lowering his head and clenching his fists as he stood still for a few more moments. "... I'll get the chest plate... and come back for you... just wait for me a little longer, Amy..."

He raised his head and gazed off to the side to find Amy's Piko Piko Hammer lying alone by the corpse of the dragon from earlier. He walked towards it and picked it up off the ground, holding it firmly in his grip. With hammer in hand, he walked off, Hellbent on making sure that Amy's sacrifice was not in vain.

* * *

"**_You went too far this time..."_**, announced a feminine voice in a bizarre, almost abstract setting. There was no ground, no sky, merely white lights shining in every direction, varying in size from miniscule to gargantuan. **_"You've done some outrageous things before, but you know as well as I do what those two creatures have done for the planet over the years! That female was as much a hero as the male, and you know it! To subject them to such a thing after all they have done in the name of justice is not only detestable, it's a travesty! Where do you---"_**

"**_That's enough from you, Radiance. Stand down.",_** interjected a powerful, male voice, booming all across the area. **_"It is true, what has transpired is nothing short of a tragedy, but they indeed trespassed into sacred grounds containing a piece of the armor forged in ages long past. As we speak, the blue one continues on. I know am aware that it is certainly a troublesome matter, but these are the tests they must pass in order to acquire the armor."_**

"_**There, you see? There's nothin' to worry about. Mortals life, mortals die. Now suck it up, we've got more important matters at hand."**_

"**_Ohoho, you're really THAT confident in your little jungle? You've had since the beginning of eternity, and you're still just an arrogant, snot-nosed child..." _**Havoc, the same goddess of Darkness who had personally tested Rouge for the Shadow Cape, stepped forward, wearing a confident smirk upon her lips. **_"What your little pet has done has no doubt scarred the Hedgehog. He's brimming with rage right now, and he's out for your blood, Orchard."_**

Appearing out of nowhere, a green Hawk stepped forward, coming face to face with the Dark Goddess. He was shorter, only about up to chin level with the Echidna, but his crimson eyes were fierce. He wore only two articles of clothing, a pair of black pants, and a diamond pendant shaped like a leaf. As the wings on the backs of his arms spread with frustration, he lifted upon his talons to meet eye-to-eye with the goddess. **_"Cram it, sis! I could EASILY take that little blue twerp. I'm a GOD just like any one of you guys There's no chance that a freakin' MORTAL like him could ever even lay a finger on me! And will you STOP calling me a child! None of us are children anymore, so why do you keep calling me that!"_**

"**_Because you're still my little brother. Remember, first there was Darkness, then Light, Fire, Earth and Metal, Water, Wind, and then, finally, FOREST. You're still the youngest of our little family. You always have been, and you always will be."_** She reached down and gave him a firm tug on the cheek, sticking merely the tip her tongue out at him.

"**_Havoc! This is a serious matter, far from the proper time for the childish bickering between yourself and your younger brother!", _**echoed the male voice, no doubt becoming impatient with the goddess' patronizations upon the younger deity.

"**_Alright, alright, I'll leave him be. But don't expect me to bail him out. I've done my part with the Shadow Cape. He's on his own with this one." _**She merely crossed her arms and turned her back to her little brother.

"**_Fine! I'd rather become one of those lowly MORTALS than ask for your help anyways! I'll handle it myself, and the next time you'll see that so-called 'Hero', he'll be with that girlfriend of his in the afterlife, count on it!" _**Wasting no time after his words, Orchard turned and charged off, vanishing from the bizarre area.

**_"... perhaps you were a little harsh with him this time, Havoc..."_**, muttered Radiance, appearing next to her sister as only a glowing female silhouette.

**_"You always think that somethin's 'too harsh' or 'too severe', Radiance.", _**echoed a different male voice, much more casual than the one before it. **_"This'll be good for him. The kid needs to learn that there's more to existance than just classifying between Mortals and Immortals. With luck, this blue Hedgehog will be the one to teach him."_**

Havoc nodded softly, heaving a heavy sigh. **_"Could be, Pyro. We'll just have to wait and see how it plays out..."

* * *

_**

As the gods continued with their meeting, Sonic sped forward through the forest, plowing through any and every obstacle in his path, a dark glare set in his eyes. He was torn between sorrow, guilt, regret and fury. He wanted answers. He wanted to know why it had to be Amy of all people. He wanted to know why someone who had only the best of intentions for just about everything had to die at the prime of her life. He wanted to know what she had done to deserve such an unseen twist of fate. He wanted his answers, and he wanted them now. As these thoughts continued to race through his head, a massive door of Redwood and Oak came into view. Inscribed upon the center of it was an image of a chest plate. _'That chest plate... it's the cause of all this! All of these items, these so-called gods who didn't even do anything to stop it all from happening!' _He continued to speed forward, gripping the Piko Piko Hammer firmly in both hands. He then jumped into the air and began to spin faster than ever before in his life. **"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"**, he screamed at the top of his lungs as he connected against the door with the Piko Piko Hammer, using the full force of his momentum, his body weight, and the hammer's power. A gaping hole was immediately created in what seemed to be the final barrier between he and the Chest Plate, one he passed through instantly after opening it.

Sonic landed firmly upon the grass covered ground, panting heavily. Never in his life had he pushed himself so hard, never had he been driven by pure rage to go faster than he thought possible without his Super powers. He was determined to keep pushing, to do whatever it took to find the answers he sought out. He lifted the Piko Piko Hammer to his shoulder and let it come to rest atop it, his eyes gazing around the room. There were fruit trees of every kind, Apples, Cherries,Pears, Oranges, and so many more, filling the room with a sweet aroma. He didn't care, though, he had his mind set upon his objective. As he continued to gaze around, searching for any signs of the Redwood Chest Plate. His eyes finally locked upon an unnatural glow deep within the grove. Wasting no time to even think about it, he rushed forward, reaching his destination in mere seconds. He came to a screeching halt before a pedestal, standing a good 10 feet tall and at least three feet around. It was almost entirely covered in vines and ivy. Sitting atop it was a red and black wooden chest plate with two rounded shoulder pads. It was indeed the Redwood Chest Plate he had been searching so vigorously for. Before he could make a move, something wrapped around both of his legs and pulled back, bringing him firmly to the ground.

**_"YOU'RE the stupid animal that made it through my forest? Ya didn't even bother to open the door, you just plowed right through it! You've got some serious issues with manners, rodent.", _**spoke a voice from the pedestal. The vines and ivy around it rustled a little before a figure stepped out. Orchard, the Forest God, stood before Sonic, wearing a smug grin.

Sonic growled as he lay upon the ground, pushing himself up with his elbows. "Just who the Hell're you, huh!"

The Hawk laughed softly, his arms crossing themselves firmly over his chest. **_"'Who am I'! You're REALLY dense, aren't you? The name's Orchard. I'm the Forest God, and the guardian of the Redwood Chest Plate. You and that girlfriend of yours had a lot of nerve trespassing in here. You're the first to have ever made it through all of my traps, but all that means is that I personally have to see to it that you don't make it out of here. You should consider it an honor, not many of you pathetic mortals get to say it was a bonified God that took their life." _**

Sonic's eyes widened as he heard the words 'his traps'. This sparked something in the Hedgehog. He glared right up at Orchard, gripping the Piko Piko Hammer even more firmly than before. "**YOUR** traps? Was that dragon back there one of your traps as well?"

Orchard chuckled softly, shutting his eyes. **_"Dragon, huh...? Oh, you mean THAT one. Yeah, I made that pathetic specimen with my own two hands. It had NOTHING on some of the other things I've created, but it made for a decent guard. Apparently though, you and weak little girl who came in with you learned that, didn't you? Heheheh, it was entertaining to watch..."_**

Sonic's eyes practically turned black as he heard this. His entire body began to quake as his grip on the hammer grew even more firm. "... bastard... you bastard... I'll **KILL YOU!**" The second those words passed his lips, he broke into a brief spin dash, shredding the vines at his feet. He stopped on his feet, only to lunge forward. Before the Hawk could even make a move, the Piko Piko Hammer in Sonic's hand had been swung and connected directly with the God's face. He flew back, crashing through the pedestal and continuing on, his body eventually plowing through a Lemon tree before skidding along the grassy ground to a halt. In this time, Sonic had already touched the ground and was on the move again. Just as Orchard had gotten up on one knee, Sonic was in his face again. He swung from the ground up, putting everything behind it. The hammer drove furiously into the Forest god's gut, the outline pressing out his back before the motion of the swing sent him flying upward.

Orchard flipped over and over again in mid-air before regaining his breath and bearings from the blow. He spread his wings to stabilize himself and came to a halt upright in mid-air, hovering there and panting heavily. His hands clutched his cut as he glared down at the Hedgehog. **_"Y-you think you can just attack me like that and get away with it! Fine, if it's a fight you want, let's get---"_** He was cut off as his brain registered a surprising new development. As he was recovering and running his mouth, the Blue Hedgehog had scaled the tallest tree in the orchard, only to jump as high as he could from the tip of it onto the end of a massive tree branch nearby. The Hawk watched as the branch bent from the combination of the Hedgehog's weight and the force behind his fall, taking it almost to the ground. Then, it recoiled, sending his mortal adversary careening towards him. **_"WHAT THE HELL?" _**He reached into one of his wings and grasped a branch from within it. A green aura appeared around it as it began to change shape, transforming almost instantly into fencing sword. The Hawk drew back just as Sonic drew back the Piko Piko Hammer back, and as soon as they came within reach of one another, they swung. Their weapons collided violently, sending sparks firing through the air.

The first strike ended almost immediately as Sonic pushed forward, knocking Orchard back just slightly. The blue Hedgehog flipped forward once and brought his hammer down hard, slamming it against the Forest god's blade. The remaining power from his swing lifted him up above the Hawk. He continued swinging down upon his adversary violently, faster and faster, driven by now not only by rage, but hate. He hated how Orchard seemed to just brush Amy's life to the side as if it were nothing more than a show put on especially for him. He hated how the God ran his mouth about the Dragon being a 'pathetic specimen'. Despite the fact it had killed Amy, even it was a living being. It disgusted him to no end that he immediately assumed he was greater than anyone else simply because he was a God. "You have the gall to talk about life like it's just something that can be replicated and redone over and over again! You think that just because you're a God and we're not, we're not as good as you! Well wake up, ass hole, because we're not as weak as you'd like to THINK!" The instance those words passed his lips, he brought the hammer down even more violently than before. The force of the blow shattered Orchard's blade and connected directly with the arrogant god's face, immediately shooting him towards the forest floor below.

Orchard slammed hard into the ground, the force of the impact creating a small, two-foot deep crater beneath his body. He coughed up some blood, gazing up at the blue Hedgehog. **_"What... what the Hell...? What's making him so damned powerful...?"_** Before Orchard to even try to reason with it, he could see Sonic diving towards him. He quickly brought himself to his feet and jumped out of the way just before the Hedgehog swung the Piko Piko Hammer once more. The crater deepened from the impact of the hammer, now five-feet deep. _'Now's my chance!'_ **_"TREE HAMMER!" _**Orchard sneered as hundreds of blades of grass suddenly lengthened and fired at Sonic, wrapping around him, totally bending him from the neck down. Following that step without missing a beat, the trees nearby leaned back, one after the other, and swung forward. Their massive tops crashed down upon the crater. This was the god's favorite attack. It would continue beating and bludgening the opponent over and over again until there was not an opponent left to attack. **_"Hehehehe, see you in Hell, Hedgehog!"_**

Just before the trees could lift again, leaves, grass and soil began to spray everywhere. Then, in a single, swift motion, a blue sphere shot forth from between the trees, carving through the ground below it. It was Sonic, who had only narrowly escaped being beaten to death by bringing himself to a spin dash. He stopped spinning in mid-charge and began to run, using the remaining speed from the spin as a boost. **"THIS ENDS NOW!"** Sonic drew the Piko Piko Hammer back as far as possible. The instant he came before the Forest god, dumbfounded that his opponent had survived the assault, he spun upon his heel, swinging the hammer around once to gain extra momentum. He plowed the weapon right into the side of the god's head, sending him flying straight through the air, crashing through tree after tree after tree, taking down at least a dozen before he came to a screeching halt in a trench upon the ground, dug by the force of his body's impact. He was out cold.

This left Sonic standing tiredly in the midst of the grove, the victor. But he wasn't satisfied. He wearily made his way towards the fallen Hawk, the Piko Piko Hammer dragging along the ground behind him. He stopped at his side, gazing down at him with a strange gaze, an unreadable expression. He raised the hammer into the air, his teeth grinding against themselves. "... Amy's dead... because of you... and you don't even take any responsibility for your actions... your worse than Eggman, you're totally vile..." He shut his eyes tightly, standing still for a moment, silence the only thing accompanying him in the area. Then, with a loud scream, the hammer came down.

* * *

Five hours, six hours, no one could tell how much time had passed by except for those on the outside world. However long it was, it was enough to give Orchard the time to regain consciousness. As his eyes fluttered open, he let out a sore groan, dragging himself into a sitting position. His right hand came to cup the side of his head where the Piko Piko Hammer had connected earlier. **_"Shit... that stupid rat really nailed me..."_**

"This 'stupid rat' is currently sitting five feet away from you, bird brain."

Orchard's eyes immediately found their way to Sonic, who currently held the Redwood Chest Plate firmly in his left hand, and the Piko Piko Hammer in his right. He dragged himself to his feet, taking up a feeble fighting stance. His entire body ached, something that he hadn't felt in centuries. **_"What, you wanna go another round? I'll take you on right here!"_**

Sonic sighed, turning his head entirely away from the Hawk. "I beat you once, I'm satisfied... You should be thanking me. I can't kill a god, but the way you were, I certainly could've crippled you. I'm sure it's at least been a few hours since then..."

Orchard just stared for a moment, his pose becoming more relaxed. He shut his eyes as a light green glow began to eminate around his body. More light flowed into him from nearby plantlife in a steady stream. Upon closer observation, it was apparent what was happening. He was drawing energy from the plants to heal his wounds. This would do little for the soreness, but at least he wouldn't have to wear his battle scars around his family, despite the fact they were probably well aware of his loss by this point. The light soon faded, his any remnants of his wounds along with it. His eyes narrowed as he made his way towards the Hedgehog, his hands balled up into fists. **_"Why did you stop then? As mad as you were when we fought, I would have figured I'd at least wake up to find something broken. You know I wouldn't have hesitated to exterminate you, so what was your reason?"_**

The blue Hedgehog remained silent for a few moments, his eyes shut. He opened them, a look of grief now quite evident upon his face. "... it wouldn't have done me any good. Amy's dead, and just running around like a maniac beating the Hell out of people without any reason wouldn't do anything to bring her back..."

**_"... huh..."_** The green Hawk turned his back to the Hedgehog, looking over what damage had been incurred upon the grove he had so carefully tended to. After a moment, he heaved a sigh, turning his gaze over his shoulder to the Hedgehog. **_"Morta---, I mean... Hedgehog... tell me, why do you creatures even bother loving each other or making relationships with one another? I mean, you can only live for so long, and when that person you've come to trust dies, it only makes you sad. What's the point in creatures with a time limit on their lives getting involved in something that's supposed to be eternal?"_**

Sonic was taken a bit off guard by this question. It was a strong reminder of what had just happened. He shut his eyes and just turned his face forward, thinking upon it. It wasn't an everyday question one could answer at the drop of the hat, and it was really something he had never considered before. After a few moments, Sonic snickered softly, and yet sadly. His eyes opened, wearing a grin that opposed his grief-stricken eyes. "... I guess it just hurts too much to live alone all the time. We can't survive like that. Friends and the people we love are people we can laugh with, cry with, share secrets with..." Sonic stood, the Piko Piko Hammer resting upon his shoulder, the Redwood Chest Plate held firmly under his left arm. "... it does hurt to lose them, but, I guess it's just something that has to happen. My friends... Amy... they mean everything to me, and even if I end up losing them all one day, I'll still have memories of all the good times we had... I don't know if you gods relate in the same way we do or if you're strictly all-business with one another, but I'm sure even you guys don't like to be lonely... In any case, I've got to get Amy and get out of here... later..."

Orchard just stood still, listening as Sonic's foot steps began to fade off into the distance. _'Afraid of loneliness, huh...? ... Heheheh, damn...' _He cupped a hand over his face, wearing a weak grin. **_"... Mortals... they just make no sense..."_** He began to chuckle softly, shaking his head at the same time. As he continued to chuckle, a single tear found it's way from beneath his hand and down his cheek...

* * *

Sonic sighed, exiting the grove through the damaged door, his saddened gaze cast at the ground. It would be a long trip back with the armor, the Piko Piko Hammer, and Amy's body, one that would give him far too much time to think. Already thoughts were beginning to rush into his head in a torrent, only succeeding in deepening his grief. "Amy..."

**_"HEDGEHOG!"_**

Sonic came to a dead halt as he heard the voice pierce through the woods. He turned to face the door, only to find Orchard standing at it, his arms crossed. "What? Are you going to tell me I can't have the chest plate?"

Orchard walked forward, shaking his head. **_"Nothing of the sort, blue... I just thought you might find it easier to get out like this." _**The green Hawk merely snapped his fingers, and immediately after, the trees of the forest began to shake and rattle. One by one, they swiftly sank into the ground, clearing the area out until not even a single leaf was left visible. **_"It's a little perk of being a Forest god and all..."_** His then raised an index finger and pointed over Sonic's shoulder, turning the blue Hedgehog's attention towards the body of Amy Rose. There was no blood, no gap from the root spear that had impaled her, even her dress was as good as new. Orchard could only sigh, lowering his head.**_ "I've already had some of the spirits tend to the girl's body and clothes... The wound from my Wood Dragon should be gone... but, I'm afraid that's the extent of my abilities. I'm only the Forest god, not the god of Life, nor of Death..." _**He took a quick glance to the blue Hedgehog, only to find his head downcast and his body trembling. He sighed, shutting his eyes again.**_ "Look... about what I said earlier... I am sorry. I know what it's like to be lonely, and... well... I guess I just couldn't see that you Mortals knew, too..." _**

The blue Hedgehog remained silent, his trembling slowly coming to a halt. He just stood quietly, not even slightly acknowledging the Forest god's apology. Then, after a seemingly endless silence, he made his way to Amy's body. He knelt down, beside her, setting the Piko Piko Hammer and the Redwood Chest Plate to the side. "... is there anything I could use to carry her out of here with?"

The Hawk looked remorsefully towards the Hedgehog, nodding softly. He then rose one hand in the direction of a large patch of grass only a few feet from the blue hero. From the patch, a short, fat tree rose from the ground, perhaps the size of a small car. The tree's bark and branches peeled back, falling gently onto the ground to reveal a wagon made of oak, finely decorated with archaeic symbols around the edges and on the outside. Two handles stuck out of the front. This wagon, no doubt, was intended to be pulled by horses or some other Equestrian creature.

Sonic gazed towards Orchard, raising an eyebrow. "I can't really do much in terms of pulling this thing, even if I got a running start..."

The Hawk nodded solemnly. **_"I'm aware of that. Just wait a moment."_** Orchard shut his eyes, taking a deep breath as he folded his arms over his chest. The ground began to rumble slightly as a massive object slowly emerged, dirt and grass rolling off of it's form. When fully surfaced, it's identity was revealed. It was the corpse of the Wood Dragon that Sonic had pulverized in his earlier rage. The body split open, pouring gallons of thick sap upon the ground. From within the split, a small creature began to emerge. It was another Wood Dragon. This one, though, was about the size of a large horse. It shook itself off just slightly as it stepped onto the grass, letting out an infantile roar. **_"This is the offspring of the dragon that... well, it'll take you out of here and fly you to your destination..." _**Almost immediately after the Forest god spoke those words, the ground began to rumble again, this time far more violent than the last. Suddenly, the dome-ceiling the underground arena began to shift, pouring mud and water down from high above. Sunlight flowed in with the waters and dirt, bringing the torches lighting the arena to a dim glow. The green Hawk sighed a little bit, looking up at the sunlit sky on the outside. **_"Get into the wagon. You need to get out of here so I can shut the ceiling before this place floods entirely."_**

Sonic nodded, lifting Amy's body and setting it gently into the wagon. He then grasped the Piko Piko Hammer and the Redwood Chest Plate and stepped in, sitting beside her. His gaze turned to Orchard, the look in his eyes stressing only seriousness. "... take care of yourself."

The Wood Dragon lumbered towards the wooden cart. It came to a stop before it, the back of the creature facing the blue Hedgehog. Two vines shot out from beneath the wings, latching onto the handles in the front. With another infantile roar, it spread it's wings out to their full width and began to beat them up and down with great haste. It's then lifted off the ground and began to fly around the dome in circles, the cart being towed behind it as if it weren't even there. With each pass around the dome, it went higher and higher, until it finally escaped through the gap between the cascading waters plunging into the arena. It quickly ascended after that, rising above the highest tree tops in the Aquatic Ruin Zone, rising up hundreds of feet in the air.

Orchard stood firm on the now muddy ground of the arena, a soft sigh passing his beak as the dome began to close again, slowing the flow of water and mud. _'... now I understand why she called me a child for so long... I guess I was nothing more than a stuck-up brat... Hedgehog... Sonic... thanks...'_

High in the sky, the blue hero sat silently, his back to the fierce wind blowing across the cart, his gaze locked upon what this quest had brought and cost him. He had the Redwood Chest Plate now, one of the last four items that Abaddon had blackmailed he and the others to acquire. The cost, though, the life of Amy Rose, was something he knew he could never retreive. It was a price far too high, a price that no one should have ever had to pay, and yet there she lay, her body cold, not a breath escaping past her lips, not a flutter of an eyelash. Sonic shut his eyes, his knees bent up to his chest, his arms crossed and resting atop them. _'Amy... I'm sorry... I loved you too, but I could just never say it... I could just never find it in me to admit my feelings... I'm so, so sorry...'_ Sonic turned his saddened eyes from her lifeless figure, instead gazing briefly to the small Wood Dragon. He knew what he had to do. He had to stop Abaddon, to ensure that this event would never be repeated for anyone else. He wouldn't let the silver Hedgehog's lust for power rob another of their life. "... Dragon... take us to Prison Island... there's something I need to deal with..."

With a loud screech, the dragon turned in the air. Prison Island was now it's destination, the place where the blue Hedgehog intended to bring a stop to this madness once and for all, with or without the aide of the others. It wasn't just a rescue mission anymore, it was now his personal mission. A mission to ensure that the silver Hedgehog would pay in full for his crimes.

* * *

Rouge: So despite what you said, you still waited a month to post this.

Author: YO, I did NOT wait a month for no reason this time.

Shadow: Gonna love hearing this excuse...

Author: Excuse nothin'! I couldn't figure out how to end this chapter! I needed it to be the best of my ability, and I drew a blank! You can't just put chapters like this up half-assedly, it dulls the effect of the story!

Tails: He has a point.

Knuckles: But he still didn't post it as soon as most these readers would have liked, I'm sure.

Author: I know... ;.; Sorry readers, I'll try picking up the pace for ya'll. I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter, though. Next one's coming up soon. 'Til then folks, laters!


	17. A Race to the Finish, Part 1

**Distant Shadows Chapter 17 - Race to the Finish, Part 1**

Author: #Yawns a little bit#

Tails: Problem?

Author: Nah, just been late-nighting a lot lately.

Sonic: Perhaps you could use that time to, oh, I don't know, work on the story?

Author: #Sweatdrops slightly# Point made...

Rouge: So what're you gonna do right now...?

Author: Well as soon this sense of enroaching doom vanishes, get to work on the story... so, yeah, can we put AWAY the fire arms!

Tails: #Holds a massive cannon at least twice as large as he is# Hey, incentive's always nice...

* * *

A somber sigh passed the lips of a particular Bat girl as she and her companion, Miles "Tails" Prower, rested in a hollowed out pile of rubble. Currently, they were taking a brief break within the floating ruins of the Sky Sanctuary. Only vague remnants of the zone remained airborne, so travel around the floating architecture required a great deal of flight, something which the young two-tailed Fox was not accustomed to. After all, even with his extra tail, he was still naturally a land-borne mammal, unlike the Bat girl sitting across from him, born and bred to take to the skies at a moment's notice. This did frustrate Rouge just slightly. For the past three days, it had been a series of repetetive stops, each one after only about fifteen or twenty minutes of flight. Normally, she wouldn't have minded, but with the life of the Hedgehog her heart yearned for so greatly hanging in the balance, she knew that every second counted, and she couldn't dare waste an instant of that time. 

Tails' gaze was downcast at the stone floor, an expression of guilt donned upon his face. He knew how important it was that they find the Gale Helmet and return to Prison Island as soon as possible. He knew that Shadow's life hung in the balance. No matter how much he knew, though, the fact remained he was incapable of keeping up with Rouge's pace. He would spin his tails as quickly as he could to keep up with her speed, until they felt too heavy to lift anymore. No matter how much effort he put into it, though, he always maxed himself out long before the treasure hunter. He was already regretting the fact that he had left the Tornado back at his home in the rush to deliver the Steel Saber. He felt even more foolish for not bringing it up before they were dropped off at the Sky Sanctuary by Knuckles and Omega, who had taken the government jet to compensate for their inability for high speed travel or flight by themselves. Of course, he intentionally withheld this information from his partner, fearing that if she were to learn in the middle of their current situation, she would become flustered with him. He could only sigh softly, raising his gaze just enough to look at her. "Rouge... I'm really sorry I'm holding you back like this..."

The Bat girl raised an eyebrow as she heard this, turning her gaze from the entrance of their temporary shelter to the young prodigy before her. She flashed a soft smile and dismissed it with a wave of her hand. "Forget it... you're doing better than that Knuckle-head would've. I've only had to save you, what, three times? Since he can only glide, I'd have been picking his ass up every thirty seconds." With those words, she brought herself to her feet and began brushing the dirt off the back of her black suit. "Anyhow, come on. We've still got a lot of ground to cover."

* * *

Several hours and about 23 stops later, night fell upon the Sky Sanctuary, and Tails and Rouge were both reminded of one very critical lesson they had learned since their first night in the ruins. It got extremely cold, extremely fast. Fortunately, after two nights of exposure to the biting cold temperatures, they had formulated a simple, yet highly effective, plan of action. Find shelter, huddle up together to conserve and share body heat, and rough out the night. Sleep was taken in shifts, determined through shadows cast by the pale moonlight. Rouge had adamantly decided that it would be Tails who got the majority of the rest. This way, the massive amounts of energy he expended daily trying to keep up with Rouge would, for the most part at least, be recovered. 

The Bat girl was well-adapted to staying up for nights on end, anyways, so she had no qualms with that. If anything, the only thing that bothered her was that she had time to think. Time to think over the incidents layed out before her, time to think about how exactly Shadow had been captured. Time to think about what would happen if, perhaps even when, Abaddon acquired the last four items of the set. These were thoughts that, although she dreaded horribly, could not tear her mind away from. She looked down to the young fox resting in her arms, a hand settled upon the back of his head, stroking tenderly between his ears as a mother would a child. _'Tails... I'm so sorry for involving you and the others in this... it should've only ever been myself and Omega. Instead, I've dragged you all into my fight, and put you in danger too... I'm so, so sorry...'_ She silently averted her gaze from the sleeping boy within her embrace to the entrance of their shelter, another one of the many hollowed out ruins within the Sky Sanctuary's boundaries. The royal blue sky seemed to stretch on forever, dotted by the faint outlines of clouds scattered across the horizon. One wish after the other filed into her mind as she continued to contemplate her situation. Above all the others, though, a single wish stood strong, interlinked with all the others in some way, shape, or form.

_'... I just want this to be over... I want you back, Shadow, so we can go home... together...'

* * *

_

**_"... yeah... he did..."_**, echoed Orchard, the Forest god who had just had his life-altering run-in with Sonic. Although he hadn't changed his cocky, confident, and somewhat condescending personality, he knew now that Mortals were not just insects. He knew that they, like he and his siblings, had souls and feelings all their own, things that gave them strength when they needed it the most, whether it was the strength to resist temptation, or the strength to protect those that they loved. **_"I also gave the Hedgehog a transport. He's on his way now. It should take maybe five days for the Dragon to get him there..."_**

**_"I'm glad you learned, little brother. Thousands of years of trying to make you understand, and that blue Hedgehog does it in under a day." _**Havoc stepped forward, coming to a stop behind her younger brother. She didn't go out of her way to make any snide remarks, or to insult him on how thick-skulled he was for not accepting this truth sooner. She simply let a hand come to rest upon his shoulder. **_"... I'm glad you understand now, Orchard."_**

**_"Well with THAT little piece behind us, what say we move on, eh?"_**, interjected the Fire god Pyro's voice.**_ "There're still three items left, and the Fox and Bat are gettin' awful close to the helmet."_** From no where, a massive Monitor Lizard appeared, his arms folded firmly over his chest. His scaley skin was a deep shade of flaming red, dotted with spots of black in various places. Ivory-colored eyes gazed at Havoc and Orchard as one claw tapped on his arm. The only article of clothing adorning his body was a cloth vest, dotted with various markings symbolizing the flames he controlled. **_"I say you let me in on the Wind test. Y'know how she plays with her opponents. She always screws around and waits"_**

**_"And just what's wrong with that, big brother!"_**, echoed the voice of a female from every side of the zone. **_"There's no point in getting serious over them. We get a new challenger, what, once every 50 years at BEST? I like mingling with mortals!"_**

**_"You know damned well that our job isn't to fuck with them, kid! Radiance andIgneous are already waiting for their two mortals, what're YOU doing, huh!"_**, thundered an obviously frustrated Pyro as he tapped his claws repeatedly upon his arm.

**_"Oh, relax big brother. I'm already waiting at the Helmet. And besides, just who're YOU to chew me out when you were sleeping on the job after your temple flooded, huh? Tell you what, sit back and relax, I'll secure the item, and YOU can just watch and enjoy, 'kay big brother? Ciao!"_**

Havoc grinned smugly as she looked to her younger brother, her hands resting on her hips. **_"Well, well, well, Foulmouth, you sure told her."_**

_**"CRAM IT!"

* * *

**_

Rouge groaned as her stomach growled violently in mid-flight. Neither she or Tails had even seen traces of food for an entire three days, and the effects of their hunger were apparent upon their faces and in their actions. Tails was making more stops than before, and his rest periods were becoming lengthier by the hour, if only by a couple minutes each time. Rouge's flight path was beginning to grow wobbly, and her eyes heavy from lack of sleep. Even with her past experiences in staying up night after night, she'd never done it without a sufficient source of food before. She shook off a brief dizzy spell as she began to descend towards one of the larger ruins hovering high up in the atmosphere. "Tails, let's rest...!"

Tails wasted absolutely no time complying, descending at a much quicker rate than the Bat girl. He landed roughly on his hands and knees, sweat soaking the fur on his forehead and various other patches all over his body. "Rouge... maybe we should head down to Earth and look for something there. I don't think we're going to get ANYTHING to eat up here..."

The weary Bat girl made her way over to a wall and leaned her back right up against it, shaking her head as she gazed skyward. "Yeah... but I don't think we'd make it... with how we are now, even if we put everything we had into braking, we'd probably crash right into the ground..." A hand came to rest over her gut as her stomach gurgled impatiently, pestering her for some form of sustenance. "Quiet, you..."

Tails shifted into a sitting position from his place on his hands and knees, one arm draping over a bent up leg as it's twin was outstretched on the cold, stone ground. He gazed at a weed growing up in the cracks between the stones, his ears flattened back against his skull in disappointment. "I guess you're right... still, there's got to be something-" Tails was cut short in his sentence as he heard the scream of his teammate. His gaze shot to where she was standing, only to see her falling back into a newly-formed hole in the wall. "ROUGE!" The Fox scrambled to his feet and dashed towards her. He reached her just in time to grasp firmly onto her own hand with both of his, but momentum had secured the path she was to travel. The only thing Tails had succeeded in doing by grasping onto her hand was taking the trip with her, as the combination of her weight and falling speed took him down with her into a massive shaft. Working entirely off instinct, the Fox boy attempted to spin his tails to at least slow their descent. Nothing. Neither of his twin appendages responded to his internal command to fly.

Rouge was in the exact same position. Her wings refused to beat. She could feel no form of restraints, they weren't broken, everything seemed in fine order with them. She just couldn't understand what it was that denied her of her natural ability to take to the skies. _'Dammit! At this rate, we're either going to hit the bottom of the ruin, or fall through it and splatter on the ground!'_

It was almost immediately that they fell out of the reach of sunlight and into what should have been total darkness, but as strange as it was, both were able to see everything within a few feet of their bodies, their vision seeming to be supported by some omniscient light source. Neither could explain it, but neither would question it either. Instead, they could only wonder how long they had before they hit the ground. The fall seemed to go on forever, never showing any signs of changing, everything passing them in a repetetive pattern. Then, without warning of any kind...

... they stopped.

Rouge and Tails exchanged quizical looks, their expressions speaking for their lack of knowledge on what had just occured. They found themselves rotating a full 180 degrees into an upright position before their descent began again, this time at an extremely slow rate. In mere seconds, they could feel solid ground beneath their feet. Whatever strange force had ceased their fall had now vanished, leaving both to drop to the floor, Rouge onto her bottom, leaning back on her hands, and Tails onto his hands and knees, both recovering from an apparent sense of shock.

**_"I hope you two got to enjoy yourselves!"_**, announced a feminine voice, piercing through the silence. Suddenly, the area they were in lit up with torches, the flames atop them white and gray in color. A single hallway, lined with tables against the walls, was now plainly visible. At the end of the hallway was a pedestal, covered in ancient heiroglyphs. Atop the pedestal sat the item that Rouge and Tails had been searching so relentlessly for, the item that had pushed them both to their physical limits, the Gale Helmet.

Rouge suddenly found strength within her body as she forced herself up onto her feet. Just as she started forward, she was suddenly stopped. It felt as though she ran into a solid wall, but there was not a stone to be seen before her eyes. "What the...!"

**_"Oh, come on, you didn't think it'd be that easy, did'ja?"_**, sounded the voice again. This time, though, a body appeared after the voice. It was that of a Fox girl who appeared to be about Rouge's age. Although not nearly as well proportioned, she was certainly well-endowed. The fur over the majority of her body was silver in color, shining brilliantly in the fire-lit room. Black fur covered her bare hands and feet, and tipped off her ears and tail. The fur on her abdomen and chest was a simple plain white, tufting up just below her neck and between her breasts. A very skimpy , cream-colored top resembling a bikini covered the majority of the breasts from view, accompanied by a knee-length skirt of the same color, slit open at the side up to the hip. Both parts of the outfit had swirls of sky blue, white and yellow emblazened into the cloth, symbolizing the element under her jurisdiction, the Wind. She reached up and brushed a stray lock of her waist length blonde hair out of her Emerald colored eyes. **_"Sit down for a spell, relax. There's no rush, you can take the contest anytime, so why push it when you're about to fall over, huh?"_**

As if on cue to her words, Rouge did just that, swiftly collapsing to her right side. Tails could only watch as he tried to move to catch her, only to find he was too tired and hungry to bring himself to his feet. Before she hit the ground, though, she stopped, seeming to float just slightly before she was gently lowered to the ground, unconscious. The Fox boy could only stare in amazement before it clicked in his brain. "Hey... did you...?"

**_"Did I what?"_**

Tails tore his gaze from Rouge and looked to where the goddess was originally standing, only to find himself quite literally nose to nose with her. He yelped out of shock and fell back, reclining on his arms as he gazed in shock. _'Holy... she's fast!'_

The Wind goddess giggled slightly, covering her mouth with one hand as she looked to Tails, one eye shut as the other remained open. **_"Oh, I, I'm sorry! It's just, that look on your face was too funny...!" _**She calmed herself quickly, sighing softly as she knelt down infront of him, offering out her hand. **_"Sorry I scared you though. My name's Mistral, nice to meet'cha!"_**

Now that he actually got the chance to focus solely on the woman before him, he took full notice to her physical features. As he did, he could feel a slow burn rising beneath his fur-covered cheeks. There was also the fact that this was one of the few Fox girls he'd ever met that never blew him off right from the get-go simply because he had an extra tail, one who actually seemed to be treating him kindly. Before he could formulate anymore thoughts on the matter, though, he took notice to a somewhat perplexed look upon the Fox girl's face. He shook his head back and forth violently before smiling, reaching out his own hand and taking her smaller one into it. "Mi-errr... Tails. My name's Tails. It's nice to meet you, Mistral..."

The Fox girl nodded, wearing a wide smile as she stood and pulled the Fox boy to his feet. **_"Come on, you guys look starved. I'll get you something to eat and the Bat girl a place to rest."_** As she spoke, she raised one hand into the air and twirled it a little bit. Almost instantly after, a strong wind lifted up beneath Rouge and Tails, picking them both up off the ground. As she started off towards the end of the hallway, Rouge and Tails seemed to be pulled along upon their individual wind cushions. **_"Just chill out and I'll take you to the inner sanctum."_**

Tails could only stare at the ground for a moment after being lifted up before turning his gaze to the back of the Wind goddess, losing himself once more in thought. _'Does she have some reason for helping us...? What if she's leading us into a trap...? And... she actually didn't call me a freak or anything...'_ He sighed softly, taking up a cross-legged position as he floated along, shutting his eyes as he lost himself to his thoughts.

* * *

Some time later, Tails and Rouge sat at a large stone table in the center of a collossal room lit by torches glowing with pale green flames. Various markings were inscribed into the walls of the room, no doubt heiroglyphs of an ancient civilization. Age had certainly taken it's toll upon appearance, as well. Moss covered the walls of chamber in various places, and where there was none, the wear upon the stones was evident. The floor was damp, no doubt from years of the ruins hovering in the clouds and lack of any exposure to sunlight. It was safe to say that it had been a long, long time since this room had been accessed by any creature. 

Mistral sighed, her hands on her hips as she looked over the room, her nose wrinkled up from the smell. **_"Jeez, it's only been about 300 years since I came in here... It shouldn't be THIS bad..."_** Wasting no time, she snapped her fingers, creating twenty-five small cyclones, two dozen of them standing about a foot tall, while the twenty-fifth stood at two and a half feet tall. The two dozen smaller cyclones fired out, running along the walls, the table, floor and the ceiling. The moss was ripped free of it's place on the walls and ceiling, and the floors were dried and any puddles of water instantly absorbed into the cyclone. Once the clean-up was complete, the cyclones sped out of the room through the doorway from whence the Goddess and her two guests entered. The only cyclone remaining was the twenty-fifth, circulating the air in the room to rid it of the stubborn odor. The Fox girl looked over the room, a satisfied smile upon her face. **_"There. Quick simple clean-up. Now, you two look famished. Up for something to eat?"_**

Rouge and Tails only exchanged confused gazes, their eyes explaining a mutual question. Wasn't she supposed to be stopping them? What was she going to gain out of helping them? It all seemed too suspicious. The Fox boy turned his eyes to the Goddess, leaning on his arms upon the table. "Uh... sure... but, what's with all the help? We appreciate it, but, we never really expected..."

**_"Chill out, kid. You're not the first ones who I've treated like this."_ **She made her way to the table, taking a seat near Tails at the head of the table, propping her elbows upon it's surface as she let her head rest in her hands. **_"I treat all my guests like this. I figure they should at least enjoy themselves before they lose their lives competing with me in the challenge for the Helmet, and I'm proud to say that no one's EVER beaten me."_**

Rouge raised an eyebrow, her arms crossed firmly over her chest as she leaned back in her seat. "While we're on the topic, how soon can we challenge you for the Helmet? As much as I appreciate the hospitality, we do need to move. We're on a time limit."

The Goddess perked an eyebrow of her own as she heard this, her smile becoming a slightly more serious expression. **_"Huh, so you can't stay long then? Oh well, it's too bad. I was hoping to be able to enjoy your company... but I'm a fair diety, so I'm not going to let you do it tonight. After all, you two hardly seem to be at your best. If we enacted the trial now, well, I'm sure you can gather what'll happen..."_** She sighed softly as she leaned back in her seat, her fingers drumming idly on the table as she thought it over. After a moment, she clapped her hands together, a smile once more lighting up on her face. **_"Alright then! How's this sound? You guys eat up, get some sleep and get all rested, and tomorrow afternoon around, say, 5:30, we'll have our competition!"_**

Rouge nodded softly, her eyes locked upon the Goddess. "Fine, tomorrow at 5:30. Of course, since we don't have any way of telling the time right now, you won't mind coming to get us, I hope."

The Fox Girl nodded in compliance with Rouge's words, leaning once more upon the table. **_"Sure thing. It's been a long time since I got to have fun with mortals, so why risk blowing the chance? Don't worry, I'll make sure you get to the site of our little contest."_**

Tails, who by now was sitting upright with his hands in his lap, tilted his head slightly. "Um... what exactly is your trial? You haven't mentioned anything about HOW you're going to test us..."

Mistral sat with a blank expression for a second before she snapped her fingers, giggling softly. **_"Oops, sorry about that. I suppose that is kinda an important detail, isn't it? Well, it's going to be a race. I'll set up a little course for us to run around the zone. All you have to do is beat me to the finish! Of course, the only real rule is to win the race. Whether you win it strictly but running or flying, or using tricks and immobilizing me, that's entirely your choice. It's pretty dangerous, most people never really make it all the way around the course! I've actually had a few fatalities in the races before, too, so that's always something to watch out for."_**

Rouge took notice to the girl's attitude as she spoke. There was no sense of being bothered by possible serious injuries or fatalities in the race, she was actually very upbeat in regard to talking about the entire ordeal. It somewhat shook her. This girl had already come off as a little quirky, but now as she was going on about the dangers of the race so cheerfully, she had to wonder if she was just quirky, or somewhat crazy. No doubt that after hundreds of years of contests like these, anyone would become jaded to the idea of death, but she seemed different about it. It was like she was HOPING for the bloodshed. The Bat girl shook her head violently, shuddering at the thought, trying to push it out of her mind, or at least brush it off as a lack of sleep. "I guess that's how it works... Fine then, a race it is."

Mistral smiled broadly as she heard this, standing from her seat. **_"Great! I'm glad you accepted! Now, how about we eat, hm? We should at least enjoy what little time we have together before the trial."

* * *

_**

Later on Rouge found herself laying upon a dark brown leather mattress filled with feathers. Three thin satin sheets layed over her body, effectively concealing her from the bitter cold of the night that leaked through the cracks in the stone walls, something which after three nights out in the open, she greatly appreciated. It seemed that Mistral was on the up-and-up, she really was pampering them. Of course, she believed it was strictly out of confidence that even at their best, she and Tails would be incapable of besting the Goddess in the race. Despite her comfort, though, Rouge simply couldn't sleep. She was concerned about the trial that would be taking place the next day. Whether or not the Goddess was serious about fatalities, injuries, or her winning streak, which she had elaborate on in extensive detail over their dinner, she had no idea how she would measure-up to her. It left her uncomfortable, being left to wait upon a challenge with an opponent she hardly knew anything about. It was something she would have to deal with until the race.

She rolled over onto her side with a soft sigh, staring at a single torch in the corner of the room, providing her with some form of light, as the Moon's own luminescence was blocked by the thick stone walls surrounding her. Her thoughts shifted to another concern as she gazed into the flickering green flame. Shadow. More specifically, what fate withheld for the black Hedgehog. She had, since the beginning of their quests for the items, been questioning whether or not she would be able to get back to Abaddon in time with the items. Even then, she was scared on just how trustworthy the silver Hedgehog was. What if he didn't keep up his end of the bargain? What if he decided to keep Shadow and extort her further, or worse, simply kill the black Hedgehog? She knew how situations like that worked. Once an asset became expendable, they rid themselves of it. While there were instances they kept up their ends of the bargain, quite often they also broke their word and, depending on what they were using for their bargaining chip, someone would either lose something or someone that was very dear to their heart. The thought of losing Shadow was something she not only dreaded, but it was simply something she couldn't bear. She didn't know what she would do if he was taken from her.

She gripped her sheets firmly, shutting her eyes as her thoughts drifted again, back to when she first encountered Shadow, back on the ARK. It was strictly business then. She'd work her way into their little team, let out information to the President on Eggman's plans, and eventually take the Chaos Emeralds for herself. But, as with many thought-to-be-great plans, there was an unexpected element. Slowly but surely, she began to develop feelings towards the black Hedgehog. At first she merely brushed them off as teenage hormones, but after being rescued from Prison Island by the very same black Hedgehog, she began to question that decision on what her feelings really were. His death, at least as everyone thought it was at the time, followed soon after. It hurt her horribly inside, but she refused to show her tears to anyone. Not until she'd returned to her home had she silently let herself break down. For the next few weeks, she'd always put on a facade of strength after that whenever she went out, just to conceal how she was truly feeling. It was successful in the eyes of all she'd encountered, but she knew just how false it was deep down, the total lie she had set upon herself just so she wouldn't draw attention during her work or in public.

Disbelief and shock, those were the two things she felt when she had rediscovered Shadow in one of Eggman's bunkers months later. At first, she had to wonder if she'd been dreaming, if she was really seeing him locked up in the capsule, or if it was just a figment of her imagination. Of course, had the barrage of bullets from Omega not immediately shaken her from that little trance, Shadow leaping out and pushing her out of the way certainly had. Learning he'd forgotten everything after that had certainly hurt, but not nearly as much as when she had believed she'd lost him. From there, all along their journey that led right up to the final battle with the Metal Overlord, as it so arrogantly called itself, she slowly, but surely, began explaining everything she could remember about him, starting right from scratch. It was difficult, sometimes, especially when it came to reminding him of their past with each other. She had to do everything to resist lying and letting her own ideals take over the truth that should have been. In the end, though, it was worth it. She did all she could, and it seemed like it had payed off. The only remaining questions she had heard from him were ones she could not answer, ones regarding his past before they met. For that reason, after the Metal Overlord's destruction, he had left. To find his answers, ones she was unable to provide. It hurt to see him go again, but knowing he was alive and well was enough to keep her in good spirits.

She opened her eyes and stared at the torch again, the desire to sleep finally beginning to overtake her. She sighed and rolled onto her back, staring up at what little of the ceiling she could see in the dim light. _'Shadow... when all of this is done... let's just go home together... let's just... go home...' _With that as her final thought, she finally dozed off, losing herself to the land of peaceful slumber.

* * *

Rouge: You look a little flustered. 

Author: That I am...

Jet: And your particular reason being?

Author: YOU YA DUMB BIRD!

Jet: #Gets in his face# Whaddya mean by that, huh!

Author: #Bats Jet away with a Gear and groans# I THOUGHT I had something original. A green bird anthro, A FREAKIN' GREEN BIRD! And then YOU show up with yer other two partners in Sonic Riders and shoot me in the foot!

Tails: Actually, that's kind of your fault for not keeping up with the news...

Author: What!

Sonic: It's not like they weren't announced months before the game came out, after all.

Author: Tha... dammit, I hate it when you have a point...

Shadow: What's done is done, right...?

Amy Rose: Just move on with the next chapter.

Vector: Shouldn't you be dead...?

Author and Amy Rose: #Points to the "Out Of Character" sign dangling above their heads#

Others: That'll do it.


	18. A Race to the Finish, Part 2

**Distant Shadows Chapter 18 - Race to the Finish, Part 2**

Author: #Taking practice swings with the Ultima Weapon keyblade#

Sonic: #Takes one of his headphone ears off and raises an eyebrow# Let me take a wild guess. You've spent the past three weeks playing Kingdom Hearts II, right?

Author: What EVER gave you that idea? #Rolls his eyes and sets the keyblade down, sighing a bit#

Tails: Why don't you just beat the game and move on with the story?

Author: Becaaaaaauuuuse I wanna beat the Titan and Hades Paradox Cups before I kick Xemnas' sorry can into oblivion and let the game collect dust on my shelf?

Sonic: Oh, come ON. You should be done by now!

Author: I didn't play it for a couple days, I'm behind.

Sonic: Then FINISH it!

Author: #Fires a Blizzaga bullet at Sonic and freezes him solid# CRAM IT!

Tails: #Groans# Here we go again...

* * *

In the middle of a hallway stood the Fire god, Pyro, tapping his foot impatiently on the marble floor, wearing a scowl upon his maw. He leaned his back against a wall of fine oak, standing next to a door of pure Onyx. His patience was wearing thin, having been waiting upon his eldest sister, Havoc, for over a half hour now. 

**_"COME ON ALREADY, HAVOC! It's gonna start any minute now!"_**, hollered Pyro, obviously irate with his sister's apparent tardiness.

**_"Hold on, you moron! I'm going to be there in a minute!"_**, returned the goddess of Darkness, obviously in no better temperament. The door swung open as Havoc emerged, straightening her dreadlocks out with a slight yawn. **_"Honestly, I don't see WHY you guys drag me along to watch these pointless trials. The outcome isn't going to change depending on my presence, so WHAT possible reason could you have?"_**

Pyro chuckled as he started to walk towards a glowing gateway made up of a rainbow of colored light. **_"Because if we leave you alone, all you'll ever do is train and work on your art. The only activity you get is in the night, and that's, what, CASTING the night over the land? Please. Get out every once in a while, you overly reclusive bug."_**

Havoc sneered slightly, reaching forward and pushing Pyro's head down as she walked by him. **_"Better than being a destructive maniac, little brother..."_**

Pyro growled as he pulled back from her hand, passing through the portal with her into their conference area. **_"Yeah, whatever. Yo, Tsunami! Where're Igneous and Radiance? Aren't they gonna watch, too?"_**

At the call of her name, the Shark girl emitted a sigh, rising up from her seat before the glowing white orb in the center of the area. A silken gown of blue, green and white hung off her body down to her ankles, totally translucent. If not for the violet sashes wrapped about her hip and chest area, she would have been exposed. Fins protruded off of her elbows and at the small of her back, as a thick, powerful tail hung down from her backside through an opening in the gown. Short locks of white hair hung level with her eyes, lengthening towards the back until the hair reached her shoulder line. Tsunami, the Water goddess, gazed with a lack of interest at her two siblings through her silver eyes before speaking with a lackluster tone towards her brother. **_"I told you before, brain child, they've gone to wait upon the teams that are going to challenge them for their items. There ARE more important things to do than watch Mistral beat these mortals into the ground..."_**

**_"Still as 'fun' as ever, huh...?"_** He rolled his eyes before taking a seat among his other siblings, gathered around the orb. He couldn't help but grin and chuckle softly as he crossed his arms firmly over his chest. **_"I love her trials. It's always such a massacre..."_**

Havoc took a seat next to Forge, leaning over onto her knees. **_"It may not be one this time. I can't say anything for sure about the child, but the Bat is anything but a push over. She's got a goal, and she won't rest until she meets it."_**

Forge chuckled, giving a soft nod. **_"She made a real come-from-behind win with me. Our little sister may just have her work cut out for her this time."_**

Orchard grinned over to his two siblings, slouching slightly in his seat. **_"Sounds like you guys've taken a real shine to her. What, did she beat a soft spot into you?"_**, taunted the Forest god. Almost instantly, though, his head snapped forward after a blunt object connected fiercely with it. He growled, his eyes wide as he clutched the back of his skull. **_"AAAHHH, WHAT WAS THAT FOR!"_**

**_"For being obnoxious, now stop it."_**, calmly chimed Tsunami, one leg crossing over the other, holding a small bat composed of ice in one hand. **_"It's starting..."

* * *

_**

Rouge and Tails stood at a faded red line upon the cracked stone ground, each one doing individual stretches and warm-up exercises. Both were well aware of what awaited them. A race in which their lives hung in the balance, against a Goddess who, by her own words, had never been beaten. Even if she may have been exaggerating it, something the two of them had taken into consideration, the fact remained that she was still the Wind goddess, and the element of Wind probably had at least SOME benefits to speed.

Rouge sighed, standing up straight with her hands on her hips as she gazed over cloud-ridden sky. It wasn't like the other days. The wind had risen significantly in strength, having nearly knocked the two of them down as a result of a few powerful gusts earlier on. The clouds were dark, ominous, and promising of rain and thunder. The smell of rain even penetrated her nostrils, despite the fact that not a single drop had even fallen yet._ 'Probably because we're so high up...'_ She glanced over to Tails with a slight grin. "Ready, kid?"

Tails huffed slightly, looking to Rouge with a slightly frustrated expression. "Don't call me kid..." His expression changed to a grin of his own momentarily before gazing forward. "But yeah. After a good night's sleep and those filling meals she gave us, I feel ready to tackle anything."

**_"Well, I'm glad you liked breakfast just as much as dinner then!"_**

Tails froze the second he heard Mistral's voice echo from behind him. He spun around quickly, but found nothing either on the ground or in the sky. He sighed and glanced forward, only to come, literally, nose-to-nose with the Fox girl. The shock of her sudden appearance caused him to jump back a foot, his eyes wide in disbelief. "H, how'd you...!"

**_"Silly boy..."_**, she said, mixed in with a few giggles. She reached out and pressed a finger onto his nose teasingly before turning around. **_"I used the wind to carry my voice behind you. I was above you the whole time, I just wanted to have a little fun. After all, I don't get to hang out with anyone of my own species very often, much less a boy... In fact, the last time I was out with a Fox boy was... maybe 28 years ago."_**

Tails, for some reason, couldn't help but stare at her after she touched his nose, a blush hidden beneath the fur upon his cheeks. His heart was racing, and his pulse jumped. He could feel himself sweating slightly beneath his fur. His gaze shifted shyly towards the ground giving a feeble nod. "I... I see..."

Mistral continued to giggle as she glanced over her shoulder at the blushing boy. A soft sigh of contentment was the end of that. She truly did enjoy messing with him, although she meant no harm in doing so. Playing with this boy's head was just too much fun. She turned her gaze forward, a light expression of excitement dawning upon her face. _'Looks like the track's in prime condition for our race! I've never seen the weather turn this ugly just in time before, it'll really add a thrill to it...!' _She turned to face her competitors with a pleasant smile, raising one finger up next to her face. **_"Now, remember. The only real rule is to win. There aren't any laps in this race, it's a straight on course from start to finish all the way across the Sanctuary. You can use any weapons, techniques, tricks, whatever you've got in mind. If you think you've got a shortcut, take it. The ONLY goal for you is to get to the finish line before me! I'll be sticking straight to the track, and I'll be limiting myself to some of my weaker moves fit for the race, so I won't be going too rough on you guys. Sound fair?"_**

Rouge smirked slightly, looking to the Goddess out the corner of her eyes as she faced the track. "I hope that overconfidence of yours isn't your downfall, Mistral."

Mistral returned the smirk, stepping up to the line between the Bat girl and the Fox boy. **_"Oohhh, you sound feisty. But I don't think you'll have enough time to worry about me with how far behind you're going to be. Now get ready, the race starts right after the boost!"_**

Tails turned his gaze over to the Fox girl as she, Rouge and he got into sprinting positions. "Uh, boost? What do you me---?"

Before the young prodigy could even finish his sentence, a furious gust of wind fired into their backs, launching them forward at an incredible speed, firing them up a half dozen feet off the track and into the air. Their flight, though, was short-lived, as within seconds of their launch, they descended towards the track.

Mistral, the second that she touched down, sped off at an incredible speed, equal, maybe even a little faster, than Sonic's. **_"SEE YOU GUYS AT THE FINISH LINE!"_**

Tails and Rouge hit the ground running at top speed only an instant after her, but even with that brief instance, there was at least a football field's worth of distance between them. The gap grew no further, though, as both of them hit at an even pace with the goddess, and continued to go faster and faster.

Tails was already starting to leave Rouge behind, a far more accomplished racer than she. He had to be to have been able to keep up with Sonic ever since they had joined up and become friends. He glanced over his shoulder to Rouge, waving his hand at her. "I'll see you up ahead, just be careful!"

Rouge smirked slightly, waving back. "Hey, I should be telling YOU that! Get moving, kid!" Rouge was certainly not the fastest on land. In fact, of everyone involved in the incident with the Metal Overlord, she was one of the slowest. Of course, that was simply in comparison to her peers, as by regular standards, she was still extremely agile. It didn't matter in the least, though. She still couldn't keep up on her feet. _'Alright, time to take this to the air!'_ Just as she was about to bound up and into the air, a powerful gust blew at her from the side, actually knocking her right off her feet and causing her to crash face first on the soaking wet ground. She groaned, lying like that for a couple more seconds until the wind died down. "Damn... I can't get airborne in this, it'll blow me straight off the track!" She wasted not a second longer, scrambling to her feet and taking off in a mad dash to try and make up for lost ground.

* * *

Two hours into the race, the Gods and Goddesses sitting within their chamber were growing restless. Five times, the Fox boy had caught up with their sister, only to be left in the dust as she took it upon herself to give herself a quick boost of speed. The winds had also died down enough for the Bat girl to take flight, and she was beginning to gain upon her teammate and their opponent. There was no doubt in any of their minds, these were formidable opponents. 

Tsunami sighed, rubbing one only one of her temples with her middle finger, the other hand still crossed over her abdomen. **_"I can't recall the last time that I saw Mortals give Mistral such a run for her money. That Fox boy is especially impressive…"_**

Havoc smirked in Tsunami's direction, her arms crossed over her chest. **_"Well what do you expect? After following that blue Hedgehog for so long, it's no small wonder that he's set to race against our sister."_**

Tsunami gazed in her sister's direction, unable to restrain a slight smirk of her own. **_"It sounds almost as if you expect the child to win…"_**

"**_Perhaps I do, little sister."_**

Forge peered out the corner of his eyes between his sisters, shooting a brief glare at the two of them. **_"Do you mind? They're on the last stretch of the race, and some of us are TRYING to watch."_**

Havoc turned her gaze to her younger brother, perking an eyebrow as she turned her gaze towards Pyro. **_"You're not telling us something. Neither of you are ever this interested in watching the trials…"_**

Pyro sneered, turning his gaze towards his bovine brother. **_"Not normally. But we have a little wager. This fool over here really believes that the Bat girl and her little Fox friend can cross the finish line before Mistral. I decided to humor him, and if he wins the bet, he gets to whale on me for a bit 'til he knocks me out. Of course, if he LOSES..."_**

"**_Which I WON'T, thank you..."_**, interjected the god of Steel, obviously irritated with his older brother's mocking tone. **_"If I lose, then he gets to beat me around, AND I have to create a sword for him that can resist magma, seeing as he's melted every other one he ever got his fiery mitts on..."_**

The two sisters sighed in unison, shaking their heads. **_"Should've known better…"

* * *

_**

The three contenders charged down the track, now on the final stretch of the race. It was all out at this point for Tails and Rouge, who were holding back nothing upon the now winding path. The overly intense winds from earlier had died down significantly. In place of their original status as a threat, though, was lightning. One bolt after the other, the majority firing through the air around the track. A few stray bolts managed to scorch and puncture parts of the course, which still proved that they provided significant danger to any one of the competitors. The saving grace of all of this was that the finish line, marked by a pair of twin cyclones, was in plain sight.

Rouge panted heavily, her entire body soaked with sweat. It ached, but she could deal with it. The finish line was in sight, and things were looking good for them. The gap between them and the Goddess, at this point, was practically nothing, and for Rouge, her back was in plain sight. She would have taken to flying over the gaps between the path to shorten the distance between her and the finish, but she had given everything she had with her wings simply to catch up from her fall before, and they simply refused to move. Still, this didn't deter her, especially considering that it seemed the chances of winning were pretty good.

Tails, on the other hand, was only a couple of inches behind her, and closing. The gaps were too far for him to fly across with how much energy he had spent, but it didn't matter. He knew he could hold his own at this point. He couldn't help but smirk as he panted heavily with every breath. _'Just a little more, and the helmet's gonna be ours!'_

Mistral peered over her shoulder to the two, blinking a bit. _'Whoa... they've really held there own up to this point... damn, it's a shame that I have to go'n do this now...'_ She spun around, beginning to fly backwards with a bit of a sad smile on her face. **_"You've been great racing partners, the best I've had in centuries... but... this is where it has to end. Sorry guys, but my duty comes first."_** Just as soon as she finished speaking those words, she bounded up into the air and flipped in a 180, now facing the finish line, at least a good 1000 feet above the track. A white and gray aura flared up around her body briefly as she pointed forward and, instantaneously, shot off like a missile, creating a sonic boom that nearly knocked her two competitors over.

Tails' eyes widened, his jaw hanging down. _'Sh... she was holding back!'_

Rouge continued running automatically, despite how badly her body now wanted to give up. She didn't know if the Fox boy could pull anything out of his hat at the last minute, but she was absolutely spent on ideas and energy, and the one thing that had kept her body moving, the desire for victory, was fading fast. _'We... we never had a chance from the start...!'_

Mistral smiled as she fired through the air, watching as the finish line came closer and closer at an increasing pace. Once again, she would come out the victor. But the consequence for her competition forced it's way into her mind, and a remorseful expression came across her face as she turned to face them, still flying backward, biting down on her bottom lip, actually having second thoughts about if she really should go through with it. Before she could fully process her thoughts, though, her ears perked up in full, her attention grabbed by a loud booming sound nearby. She turned around, gasping sharply as a light emerged from the clouds above right towards her. A lightning bolt, massive in size and power, was blazing towards her from above. She didn't even have the time to react as the bolt struck her, forcing an ear-piercing screech past her lips. Goddess or not, the pain of being hit by thousands of volts of white-hot electricity, and in the pouring rain no less, was excruciating, so much that in that very instant, her eyes glazed over and she began to fall, totally unconscious.

Tails came to an immediate halt the second he heard Mistral's scream, gazing at her in horror as she hovered for a moment before beginning to plummet downwards towards the Earth far below, totally out of range of the track. He stood frozen for a couple seconds, contemplating just what to do before it finally struck him. He glanced over to Rouge, his eyes narrowed ferociously. "Rouge, get to the finish line! I'm going after Mistral!"

Rouge's eyes widened at the Fox boy's declaration to try and save the Wind goddess. "Tails, wait a sec---!" Before she could even finish her sentence, the young prodigy had dived off the track, spinning his tails as quickly as he possibly could to try and catch up with the falling Fox girl, who was already a few hundred feet ahead of him in the fall towards the planet. The Bat girl could only groan in frustration as she continued running towards the finish. _'Stupid kid...!'_

As Rouge continued towards the finish, Tails sped faster and faster, with each passing second, growing closer and closer to the Fox girl. He didn't know what it was, but the thought of saving her felt different than any of the other times he'd given his friends help. The thought of something happened to her pained his heart far more than it had with the thought of losing anyone else. His pulse, if possible, had increased further, and a fiery determination burned in the pit of his stomach and in his eyes, a determination to save this girl. Just as soon as she was within arms' reach, he wrapped both of his own about her body and turned his tails downwards, rotating as quickly as he could to try and slow their descent towards the sea. As he worked so vigorously at trying to break their fall, he found himself staring into the unconscious face of the goddess, feeling the blush burning beneath the fur on his cheeks again. He continued to stare for a few more seconds before shutting his eyes and pulling her close, half to provide better protection, and half for a reason he himself could not comprehend. It was then that everything went silent around him.

* * *

Tails groaned softly as his eyes eased open, squinting as they adjusted to the bright light above. He found himself lying back in the Sky Sanctuary Zone, atop one of the tallest ruins. The clouds, clearly, were dispersing, and the rain and lightning had totally ceased. 

"Hey, it's about time you woke up."

Tails turned his head, only to find Rouge sitting next to him. Behind her stood Mistral, with hands resting firmly on her hips, and a weak smile on her face. "Hey... glad you're alright..."

Rouge rolled her eyes, taking a second to quickly knock him on the forehead, leaning over him. "Uh, HELLO Tails. In your hotheaded play-the-hero moment, you forgot she's a GODDESS. You nearly got yourself killed trying to save someone who would've brushed a fall like that off like it were nothing!"

Tails' eyes widened at this realization before he turned his head away, biting down on his bottom lip, totally embarrassed. _'Crap, she's right, I did forget...! Oh, I must look like a total spaz...!'_

Mistral took notice to this and giggled, stepping forward before crouching down by the Fox boy, reaching over and giving him a gentle poke behind the ear. **_"Hey, chill out cutey. Even if it was kind of pointless, it was... well, it was pretty sweet of you. So, thank you, Tails."_**

The Fox boy shifted his gaze to the goddess, a shy smile on his face. "Um... no problem, really... Oh! Rouge! What about the helmet!"

The Bat girl crossed her arms, smirking a bit. "Hey, come on now, I have my priorities. I crossed the finish line just a couple minutes before she hauled your butt up here, so the helmet's ours, right?."

The Fox girl nodded, standing up with her hands on her hips. **_"Yep, those were the rules. Cross the finish line and get the helmet. Congrats you two! Now, how about we celebrate, huh? As worn out as you two look, I don't think you're going anywhere by yourselves tonight."_**

Rouge could hardly restrain a soft chuckle as she rose to her own feet. "You've got us there, but ONLY for tonight. I have something I need to do..."

"**_The black Hedgehog, right?"_**

Rouge's eyes widened as she heard this, a look of slight disbelief on her face. "How did you...?"

Mistral giggled a bit, waving her hand as if to dismiss the shock. **_"I'm a Goddess, duh. More to the point, Havoc told me. She's kept a pretty close eye on you for a good while, Rouge. You've gotten the attention of her, myself, AND our other six siblings with all this running around you're doing collecting the pieces of the armor."_**

Tails, who had brought himself up to his feet by this point, stood next to Rouge, gazing with a look of interest at the Bat girl. "Havoc...?"

"She's the goddess of Darkness who put me through the trial for the item hidden in the Mystic Cave Zone." She sighed, rubbing her throat with a bit of a grimace as she remembered just how dangerously close she came to being strangled to death by the trial.

**_"That'd be her. She's shown the most interest in you two. And I can see why, you two are pretty admirable for mortals. But enough about that crap for now, come on, let's party!"

* * *

_**

The night came and went, just as all those before it. If there were any differences, it was that the mind of the two heroes who had contested with the goddess for the Gale Helmet were now at ease. With the knowledge that their end of the deal was virtually complete, and great confidence resting within their other six allies, they were able to get a good night's sleep. As night eventually faded into the morning, the two heroes rose, and met with the goddess of Wind once more at the edge of the Sky Sanctuary Zone.

Mistral smiled softly, her hands on her hips as she looked towards the two heroes. **_"It's a real pity you have to go so soon. I'd have hoped we could have gotten to know each other a little better, you know?"_**

Rouge nodded softly, holding the helmet against her body beneath one arm. "Yeah. It was fun while it lasted, but we do have to get going. We have a time limit, and it'll take us a good while to get to Prison Island by ourselves."

Mistral nodded, shutting her eyes. **_"Yeah, that would take a bit..."_** She stood silently for a moment, a thoughtful expression settling onto her face before suddenly opening her eyes and smacking a fist into her hand.**_ "I got it!"_** She smiled softly, raising an index finger up. **_"I've got two things for both of you before you go."_**

Tails blinked a bit, his arms crossed loosely over his chest. "Uh, are you sure? I mean, you already gave us the helmet..."

**_"Uh-uh, kid. You EARNED that helmet. These next two things are gifts from me to you guys. Now, Rouge..."_** The goddess held both hands out in front of her body, the palms facing each other as wind began to circulate between them. A pale glow formed in the shape of a tiny ball, one which quickly expanded outward and split into the shapes of three rings. As the glows faded, the rings remained as actual physical objects. The first two rings were wrist-sized, composed of platinum with small Peridot gems all around them. The third ring was much smaller, no doubt sized for a finger. This one was made of Gold, with a single, small diamond in the center. She smiled proudly as she grasped the one Gold ring and turned to Rouge, holding her opened hand to the Bat girl. **_"This is the Squall Ring. If you use it, you can create a defensive barrier around yourself. It's not a strong barrier, but it'll take a lot of the sting away from almost any attack that comes at ya."_**

Rouge gazed silently at the ring for a few seconds before grasping it out of the Goddess' palm and slipping it onto the middle finger of her right hand. She couldn't help but smirk slightly as she gazed at the ring now upon her finger, admiring it. "So get a piece of armor AND a few nice little pieces for ourselves, huh? Sounds like a win-win in my book."

Mistral giggled slightly as she turned to Tails, grasping the two Platinum rings out of the air and holding them out to him. **_"Typhoon Bracelets. This should solve your little problem about flying for long distances, it'll strengthen those tails so you can even keep up with Falcons. To top it all off, you can spin small tornadoes from your tails. Of course, the best they can really do is slow down or trip someone up, so don't rely on them too much."_**

Tails smiled broadly as he took the bracelets, nodding softly. "Thanks a lot, Mistral! I'll be sure to put them to good use!"

**_"I know you will, don't worry about that... Oh, and I almost forgot."_ **She stepped forward, stopping almost toe-to-toe with the twin-tailed Fox boy, gazing at him with a gentle smile. She laid the fingertips of her left hand down on his cheek as she leaned over, and delivered a swift kiss to his cheek before coming nose to nose with him. **_"Thanks for coming after me, Tails, it was really sweet..."_**

Tails stood totally dumbfounded, his blush spreading all over his body now, actually showing just slightly through the white patches of fur on his face and chest. He brought his own hand to the place where she had kissed, staring at her in some disbelief as he tried to formulate words, but simply found himself sputtering silence.

Mistral continued to smile, a blush of her own concealed beneath the fur on her cheeks. She stood, staring at him in silence for a moment before snapping out of a slight daze induced by the delivery of the kiss. She cleared her throat and turned her back to the two, looking up at the clear blue sky. **_"W, well, I'd better'd get going. I've got some explaining to my brothers and sisters. I set up a pair of cyclones just down that walk over there that should take you over to the mainland, but you're on your own from there. So long you two!"_** With that, she simply faded out, vanishing from the Sky Sanctuary Zone.

Rouge and Tails exchanged glances, each one of their gazes delivering their own message. They stared at one another for a good couple of moments before the Bat girl broke the silence with a soft chuckle. "Well, I suppose we should move on now, lover boy."

"Yeah, we- HEY!" Tails' expression immediately shifted to a slightly irritated one as he watched the Bat girl rush off, quickly following her down the walk towards the cyclones that would start them off towards their final destination.

* * *

Author: #Flop# FINALLY. DONE. 

Rouge: Took you long enough.

Author: Well, if college finals weren't enough, writing a good racing scene is harder than ya'd think...

Tails: At least you're done with this semester. Now you're free to write like mad.

Author: ... um... yeah... about that...

Everyone: What now!

Author: #Pokes his index fingers together# ... weeell, I do have to work for my Dad over my Summer break... but there won't be any homework or nothin' like that, so freedom is otherwise...

Amy Rose: #Grabs a whip from off screen# Oh, don't worry, we'll make SURE you use that free time right...

Author: ... didn't know you were into THAT kinda thing.

Amy Rose: #Flinches# Sonnuva...!

Sonic: #Chuckles off screen#

Amy Rose: #Cracks the whip at the blue Hedgehog and chases him off#

Author: #Sighs# Alright, alright, drop the curtain before this gets too kinky for the kiddies.

Amy and Sonic: CRAM IT!


	19. A Dark History, Part 1

**Distant Shadows Chapter 19 – A Dark History, Part 1**

Author: #Charges in# AW, CRAP MAN!

Sonic: #Watches him zip by# What's YOUR rush, o' Great Slacker? #Suddenly smacked with a flying house#

Author: CRAM IT. I'm a freakin' chapter behind!

Rouge: Might it have anything to do wi---

Author: NO. My computer went out this time, I had no chance to make the chapter!

Amy Rose: #Helps Sonic to his feet# Well, whatever the case, maybe we should get started... Where're Knuckles and Omega?

Shadow: #Walks in carrying a cardboard box with machine parts and a familiar flattened Echidna# He plowed them down by the water cooler...

Author: #Grabs the box and chucks it through a plot hole# START.

* * *

The Sandopolis Zone. A barren desert wasteland located upon Angel Island. Often times, not a drop of water is to be seen for miles. Violent winds constantly blow in some parts, twisting up sand storms that run anywhere between mere seconds to days on end. Sink holes and quick sand patches are dotted across the entirety of the zone, each one posing a danger of it's own. Countless ruins lie beneath the ground, the remnants of an ancient civilization long since extinct. Surely, this is not the place one would desire to wander into under any normal circumstance. 

Of course, normal circumstances hardly apply for the situation presented to Knuckles the Echidna and E-123 Omega. With the life of a comrade on the line, the two wasted no time in venturing forth into the scorching sands. For several days they had trudged on, fighting through the many perils that the Hellish desert had in store for them, all the while quickly running through what supplies they were able to carry to help them survive in the hunt for the Gaia Gauntlets, the legendary item they were assigned to recover. One would assume that with a machine as advanced as Omega and the Guardian of Angel Island working upon grounds he was familiar with, that finding the location of this piece of armor would be a simple task.

"I'm telling you, it's THIS WAY!"

Unfortunately for this pair, such did not seem to be the case...

"Negative.", echoed Omega, standing with Knuckles in the shade beneath one of the few massive ruins remaining above ground level amongst the sand dunes. "Sensors indicate massive power spikes approximately 4.6 miles due North by North East. We shall set our destination in that direction."

"And I'm telling you, there's NOTHING that way but traps and the remains of Eggman's machines! It's a junk yard! Our best chance is to search the ruins, and they're to the East!"

The machine-man stepped forward, getting into Knuckles' face in a very challenging manner. "It is a foolish endeavor to set our destination in that direction when all devices applicable to our current situation read that there is a 89.472 percentchance of our goal lying North by North East."

"I don't care what your sensors read, Omega! I'm the Guardian of this island, and I know it best! If there was something out there, I'd have found it. But I've seen every inch of this island since I was just a child under my father's wing, so we're doing this my way!"

"Information is incorrect. If you had seen every inch of this island, then we would not have had to travel through the desert for the past several days with no results, and you simply could have led us to the location of the Gaia Gauntlets."

Knuckles flared up as he heard this. It almost seemed as if this creation of Eggman's was being sarcastic towards him, and he got more than enough of that from a particular blue Hedgehog. He raised a fist up right between he and Omega's heads, glaring into it's glowing red eyes. "LISTEN! We've got two weeks left, and at this rate, even if we DO find them, it's gonna be too late! So you're going to follow my lead so we can get this over with, alright!" Knuckles immediately swung his arm out to the side, driving it into the wall just next to him with a resounding thud. Then, the unexpected happened. As a result of the punch that Knuckles had unleashed upon the wall, the tile his clawed fist had landed upon sank into the wall, taking him with it. This shift in his balance caused him to tip over and land on his right on his butt. The Echidna glanced up at the sunken tile, perking an eyebrow. "That's never happened before..."

There was silence between the two for a moment as they waited for some kind of response, for something to happen. Then, out of no where, the response they had been waiting for appeared right under their feet. The ground suddenly collapsed out from beneath them, causing them to plummet downward into a narrow shaft.

Knuckles, after taking a few seconds to recover from the shock of what had just happened, moved immediately towards one of the nearby walls. He drew his fist back and swung forward with the full intent of hooking into the wall to come to a complete stop. He had no such luck. The claws on his fist simply bounced off the wall, and the impact knocked him back into Omega, who caught it's ally with relative ease. _'Damn it! Bad enough that the shaft's too narrow to glide in, but I can't even get a grip on these walls! What're we going to---'_ Knuckles was torn from his thoughts as he felt Omega lift him and drape him over his shoulder. He looked the robot in the face, raising an eyebrow. "What're you doing?"

"Secure yourself."

The Echidna could only stare for a couple seconds before nodding, wrapping both of his arms underneath one of Omega's own. "Alright, whatever you've got in mind, now's the time to do it!"

Right after it's partner's words, with no warning whatsoever, E-123 Omega shot it's arms straight out to the sides, pressing them firmly into the walls. The force behind Omega's arms drew small bits of rubble from the wall, all raining down upon the two heroes. An ear-splitting screech echoed through the vertical shaft, causing the Guardian draped over Omega's shoulder to clench his teeth and cringe. It was worth enduring though, as through Omega's efforts, the two slowly, but surely, came to a halt, now locked within the pitch black darkness, already hundreds of feet out of range of the light from the surface.

As he pulled himself to sit upright on his team mate's shoulder, Knuckles wiped a bead of nervous sweat from his brow with a sigh of relief. "Glad that's over... climbing up from here will take hours though. We're really gonna lose time on this..." The Guardian lowered his head, somewhat disheartened by this apparent misfortune. But just as soon as his gaze passed beyond his legs, his eyes widened. Not far below, perhaps 300 or so feet, was a lit passageway. He pondered this for just a moment before shifting his gaze to Omega. "Omega, can you lower us so we're level with where that light's coming from? We may have a way out of this yet."

Omega didn't respond. At least not verbally. Instead, the machine relieved some of the pressure it was putting into the wall, allowing it to slide further down into the shaft in a controlled motion. It continued down like this until it was at level with the passageway.

Knuckles immediately leapt off Omega's shoulder, easily making it into the passage. He gazed down it silently, crossing his arms tightly over his chest, his eyes narrowed. It was a long path, lit by old torches, covered in hieroglyphs that he could not understand. He gazed over his shoulder towards his partner, watching it swing itself out of the shaft and onto solid ground. "Hey, Omega, can you make anything of the writing on the wall?"

Omega stepped forward, passing Knuckles silently. It came to a halt a bit further in, turning towards one of the walls which the hieroglyphs were engraved upon. Another moment of silence, and then, finally, it spoke. "Runes are not registered within database. Unable to translate."

"I thought so..." Knuckles sighed and started forward, patting Omega once on the shoulder. "Guess that's that then. Come on, we've got an item to find."

* * *

The path that they had hoped would be their way back to the surface now seemed to be anything but. By the internal clock Omega carried, they had been walking for nearly several hours, with breaks taken few and far between. The only change in scenery they had observed was in the hieroglyphs they passed on the way. It really didn't seem that they were going to be getting out of there. 

"Jeez, how much longer are we going to have to walk through this place? We must've gone at least a dozen miles by now..."

"20.81 miles."

The red Echidna sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his head as he gazed up at the ceiling. "Damn... at this rate, we may never get to find the item. There's got to be some way out of this..."

It was immediately after Knuckles' words that Omega came to a dead halt, taking on a fighting stance.

Knuckles turned as soon as he heard Omega stop, facing the machine with his arms crossed. "Okay, I'll bite. Why're you on guard?"

"Massive energy signature approaching. Source is unidentifiable. Defensive measures are highly recommended."

Knuckles turned once more to look forward, raising his fists as he took on a fighting stance of his own, narrowing his eyes as they darted around back and forth warily. "Where's it coming from, Omega...?"

The machination's hands sank into it's gauntlets, revealing the two machine guns built into it's arms, ready to fire in an instant. "Directly ahead."

The two stood silently, prepared to attack, watching for any signs of movement. The air was filled with intensity, neither of the two knowing just how or if the thing creating the energy would strike. Finally, after a few long moments, it appeared. Rising up from the ground not five feet in front of them was a shapeless, black, glowing, liquid-like blob of the likes neither had ever seen before. It hovered silently off the ground, not making a single move.

Knuckles could hear a whirring noise starting up next to him. He glanced out the corner of his eyes, only to see the machine guns in Omega's arms beginning to rotate. It was clear that Omega wanted to be ready to fire the instant any threat made itself evident. The red Echidna turned his gaze back to the floating entity, returning his attention to the waiting game they were playing with it.

Then, the unexpected happened. The black entity flashed with white light three times, and sank back into the floor. The two members of Team Earth kept their guards up for just a few seconds longer before relaxing once more.

Omega stepped forward slowly, coming to a halt where the thing had been floating not a moment ago. It knelt down, beginning to examine the area for any peculiarities it believed it might find.

Knuckles stepped up beside Omega, watching it silently as it searched. After a couple of moments, the E-Series robot rose, and he asked the obvious question. "Find anything?"

"Negative. We will continue onward, now." Just as Omega took it's first step forward, it's foot sank down. It lowered it's gaze to assess the situation at hand. A black sinkhole, resembling the blob that they had been staring at just before, was rapidly expanding from around Omega's foot. It wasted no time, activating it's machine guns and firing directly down into it. No effect at all.

"Omega!" Knuckles reached out swiftly, grasping onto Omega by the shoulder with both hands in an attempt to pull it free. This was a futile effort, though, as the bizarre material that was taking Omega down shot out across the ground and beneath Knuckles' feet, taking him down with his teammate.

It didn't stop there though. As soon as Knuckles was trapped just as his partner, the liquid-like substance shot up around the sides, reaching as high as the low ceiling, before crashing down and enveloping both of them entirely. It then receded with great haste, simply vanishing into itself.

* * *

The next thing Knuckles knew, he was on his back in a field of tall grass, gazing up at a pure blue sky, with not a cloud to be seen for miles. He stared into the sky for a moment before sitting up, further taking in his surroundings. The field of grass stretched on, as far as his eyes could behold. There wasn't a sign of anything or anyone else. It was then it struck him. Omega wasn't there with him. "OMEGA! Where are you!" He swiftly rose to his feet after calling out for his partner, only to stumble and drop down to one knee, clasping his forehead. A dizzy spell overtook him, no doubt in his mind that it was a side-effect of being caught in that thing that had enveloped him. 

"**_I wouldn't recommend rising so quickly again so soon after being retrieved from that creature. It took a great deal of your strength."_**

The head of the red Echidna turned swiftly behind him to where the voice had emanated from. Now in his sights was a brown Bull anthro, clad in brown-leather armor from the waist up. He towered over Knuckles, looking to be at least a 9 feet tall. Under his right arm was the motionless body of E-123 Omega. This immediately fired up the Echidna. He brought himself to his feet once more, but this time a bit slower than his previous attempt to avoid another spell. "What did you do to Omega!"

"**_Your machine friend will be fine. It simply cannot function in this realm because of the energy that it uses. More to the subject at hand though, I take it that you're looking for these items...?"_** The God set Omega down and raised both his arms, revealing a pair of leather gauntlets with copper plating and an Amber gem at the back of each hand. They were just what Knuckles and Omega had come for. The Gaia Gauntlets.

Knuckles nodded, looking up to the God, his arms crossing tightly over his chest. "Yeah, those are exactly what we came here for. What do you want me to do for them?"

The Bull chuckled, scooping Omega underarm once more before turning his back to the Guardian as he began to walk away. **_"Directly to the point. I like that. Come, we have things we must discuss before I can allow you to participate in the trial."_**

Without hesitation, the Echidna followed after the God, quickly coming up to his side and walking at pace with him. He kept a stern gaze forward as he began to speak. "So, is there a name I should address you by, or should I jab you in the leg every time I want your attention?"

He grinned at the Echidna's remark, looking down at the mortal beside him. **_"My name is Igneous, god of the Earth."_**

"Alright then, Igneous. Just where are we?"

"**_You're in the realm where the trial for the Gaia Gauntlets will take place. It's also the place where I prefer to spend the majority of my time, away from my siblings and their constant bickering."_**

Knuckles perked an eyebrow as he heard this, shifting his gaze out the corner of his eyes towards Igneous. "Siblings?"

The Earth god nodded solemnly, turning his own gaze town towards the Echidna. **_"Yes, the other seven gods who made the items that your team has been working so hard to get. I suppose you could say that watching over your world is something of a family business..."_**

"I can relate to that. I'm the Guardian of Angel Island, and it's a duty that's been passed my family line for ages, ever since the island first rose into the sky."

This brought a slight chuckle from the deity, finding himself somewhat amused at the words of the mortal next to him. **_"Very interesting, Guardian. Perhaps we can compare notes on our methods one day. But now, we have much more important business at hand."_** Igneous came to a dead halt where he stood, raising his free hand up. The earth suddenly began to quake beneath them, nearly knocking Knuckles down. Suddenly, the ground before them began to raise in the shape of a cube. As the shaking began to slow, the cube stopped, risen to a height of roughly 12-feet. The front of the dirt-square collapsed into itself, revealing an underground passageway illuminated by an omniscient light source. The God moved forward once again, entering into the passageway. **_"Come. There are a few things that you need to know."

* * *

_**

Silently, the two progressed deeper down into the earth, walking for a good half hour before arriving at their destination. It was a room, massive in size. Wall to wall, there were texts, scrolls, ancient relics and artifacts of all kinds, some of the likes which the Guardian had never seen. He stepped past Igneous, awe-stricken by the sight. He gazed on, taking in the atmosphere of the room, allowing it to absorb into his mind.

"**_I'm glad you seem to appreciate my collection, but I would suggest you come to your senses. I didn't bring you down here to gawk at my collection."_** The God set the motionless body of Omega down against a wall by the doorway they had entered through. His attention turned to the far end of the room as he walked towards a bookshelf, ushering the Echidna along with him. **_"Abaddon... I take it you and your allies have been fairly well acquainted with him, haven't you?"_**

Knuckles scowled as he heard this, lowering his gaze towards the ground. "If when you say 'acquainted', you mean ready to beat him into a slimy pulp for what little he's worth, then yeah, we're all pretty well 'acquainted' with him..."

The God nodded softly, his expression stern. **_"I'm sure you've also gathered that he is no ordinary foe."_**

"Yeah... he's fast. As much as I hate to say it, he's even faster than Sonic. The only time I've ever seen anything ever even resembling his speed was through Chaos Control..."

Igneous sighed as he heard this, coming to a halt in front of a bookshelf he had been seeking. As he began to finger through individual titles, he spoke in a tone much graver than before. **_"Speed... is only the tip of the iceberg with this one. His powers extend far beyond what you have experienced or felt..."_** The God's hand came to rest upon a book about as thick as his hand was wide. He grabbed it off the shelf and turned, leading the Guardian to a nearby table where he set the text down with a heavy thud. He began to flip through a small handful of pages at a time, coming to a halt near the end. The God stepped back, signaling for the Echidna to sit. **_"I suggest you indulge yourself in the next 5 pages..."_**

Knuckles did just that, taking a seat before the book as he began to read over the pages that had been set out for him. There was silence for a good 17 minutes, but there was no calm for the Echidna. Shock, disbelief, and a hint of worry were all evident by his body language after about the first 3 minutes. Once all was said and done, Knuckles turned sharply towards the God, standing from his seat. "But... what this says...!"

"**_Is entirely accurate..."_** Igneous sighed, taking a seat next to where Knuckles was, folding his arms solemnly over one another. **_"371 years ago, my eldest sister, Havoc, the goddess of Darkness, fell for a mortal who had stepped forward to admit his affections for her. It was a bold move for a mortal to make, to plea to the Gods for a chance to speak with her face to face. He got his chance, and it was a success. For 21 years, the two of them shared that very love, with not a day passing by they were not together. It was then, though, that he fell gravely ill. This brought Havoc to her senses, reminding her that unlike herself, Mortals could expire at anytime. But it turned out differently this time... Havoc made pleas with the God of Life and Death to spare him. They fell on deaf ears. He insisted that the natural balance of life must continue on as normal, and that Abaddon was no exception to this. So, Havoc, desperate to save the man that she loved, did the one thing that she could think of. She granted him a small portion of her power to govern the darkness. By absorbing the dark energies, he was able to make a full recovery..."_**

Knuckles turned his gaze away from the God, staring back at the book. "... but it wasn't the happy ending she'd hoped for, was it?"

Igneous nodded, leaning back into his seat, tilting his gaze towards the ceiling. **_"No, it wasn't... for a short while, things continued on as they did before, with the only altercation being Abaddon's reliance upon Darkness for his survival. It seemed that things would be alright, but... the darkness corrupted him. Unlike Havoc, Abaddon was not born into Darkness. He couldn't control it's influence over his mind and heart. He gradually became darker, more sinister... until one day, he attempted to assimilate my sister..."_**

"What do you mean by 'assimilate'...?"

"**_... he attempted to absorb her. Her very soul is spawned of darkness, so it was easy prey for him once he found the right moment to strike... She was almost totally taken in, but we arrived at the last moment. Radiance, my 2nd eldest sister, the goddess of Light, had detected Havoc's fading life and alerted us. We would have never expected it would be Abaddon, though... He fled from us like the coward he had become, but not without prize. He was able to duplicate and adapt almost all of my sister's abilities and godly traits, including immunity to the whims of time and all forms of physical ailment, and because a large part of my sister's soul became one with him, a link between the two formed. They are both aware of what the other is doing at all times. For nearly four centuries, his doings have tormented my sister's dreams and affected her very way of life..."_** He stood from his seat and grasped the book off the table, closing and returning it to it's place on the shelf.**_ "Unlike Havoc, though, he can only partially govern the shadows, limited to work them in a short range around his body. We learned about a century later that he was incapable of entering any of our realms to undergo the trials for the armor when he made an attempt to collect Havoc's item."_**

Hearing that last part piqued the Echidna's curiosity on the matter. The Guardian lowered himself down into a chair once more, gripping onto the arms of it firmly. "An entire century later? Why not sooner than that?"

"**_It was Havoc's powers. Learning to control darkness, or any one of the other seven elements for that matter, is no small task. It's especially vital when that element has become a part of your very existence. No doubt the trouble he had controlling it was proving to be a hindrance to his plans... It was about that time he started hiring others to do his dirty work. But, as I'm sure you can gather, none of them were able to succeed. It was then, over 200 years later, that he learned of your group, specifically the black Hedgehog and the Bat. It didn't take long for him to figure out that the girl's abilities as a treasure hunter could prove beneficial to him, with the right incentives of course. I'm sure you're aware of what happened after that..."_**

"Hold on a minute. You mentioned Shadow with Rouge. Why would Abaddon want him other than to simply manipulate Rouge?" Knuckles crossed his arms, looking right up at the God with a piercing gaze. It seemed that the God knew more than he was willing to volunteer to the Guardian.

"**_That... is for another time. For now, relax in here. You should rest before we begin the trial..."_** Igneous turned his back to the Echidna, still wearing a solemn expression as he walked off towards the entrance to the chamber, speaking not a word.

Knuckles rose from his seat, his hands balled up into fists at his sides. He wasn't angry at the God, but there was now a desire for answers. _'I can't leave here without him telling me what Abaddon wants Shadow for... I've got to get to the bottom of this...'_

On the grass field above the chamber, Igneous sat cross legged, staring over the horizon in silence as he meditated upon the story he had told the Echidna. It wasn't pleasant for him. He held his family dear to his heart, and to think of the constant suffering his sister had been going through for the past three centuries, he was not at all pleased.

"**_So, he knows now, huh...?"_**

Igneous turned his head, his gaze falling upon Havoc. A sigh passed his lips as he rose to his feet, looking down at her with a nod. **_"Yes... and I expect that he will share this information with the rest of his allies if he passes the trial."_**

Havoc crossed her arms, looking sadly towards the ground, digging her fingers into arms as she stood there. **_"... Igneous... do you think it's wrong of me to still have feelings for him...? After what he did…?"_**

Igneous sighed softly, placing both of his massive hands upon his sister's shoulders, kneeling down to come to face level with her. **_"Sister… what Abaddon did to you was inexcusable. He nearly took your life, simply to indulge in your power... but..."_** A soft smile came across his face as he placed a hand upon her head, stroking gently in a soothing manner. **_"... I believe that you should always listen to what your heart has to say. No matter how illogical or foolish it may seem, you must do what you truly think is right, to Hell with the consequences."_**

These words brought a sad smile to the goddess' face, and she quickly leaned forward, embracing her sibling. **_"... thanks, Igneous... this is still our little secret, right...?"_**

"**_Absolutely. Only you and myself are aware of the feelings you still have for him, and it will remain that way until the day you see fit to reveal it to the others. You have my word."_**

She nodded softly, burying her face into his shoulder, clutching onto him. _'... Abaddon... I won't ever give up on you... no matter what you become, you will always have my heart...'

* * *

_

Author: ALRIGHT, DON'T GET COMFY, BACK TO WORK!

Sonic Cast: WHAT!

Author: I can't afford to screw around right now! I owe the readers another 3 chapters!

Tails: Where'd you come up with THREE chapters!

Author: A bit of a self-promise, too. I'm gonna shoot for at least two chapters a month. Maybe even three or four. Of course, time off during Otakon, but...

Sonic: So you're getting serious in the Summer...?

Author: That a problem?

Sonic: Oh, no, no, not at all. Just most people use this time to go OUTSIDE.

Author: I ain't most people. NOW OFF YER ASS! Clears his throat And, to my readers, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Expect 20 soon!

On a separate note, I'd like to address something important. It's about these little out-of-story bits with the characters I put into every chapter. Now, I have no problem writing them or not, just a little comic relief I try to provide. But, I'd like the opinions of my readers. Do you think that I should continue with these out of character chats between myself and the characters? Because, really, if no one pays attention to these things or what, I'm just gonna nix it entirely. It's your call, ladies and gents.


	20. A Dark History, Part 2

**Distant Shadows Chapter 20 – A Dark History, Part 2**

Author: Heya ladies and gents. I'd like to take a moment before the story to provide a little bit of info to a question I'm sure a few of you are thinking about.

Rouge: So you actually were serious about keeping it at a pace...?

Author: Yyyyeeaaah... why, is something wrong with that?

Rouge: No, no, nothing wrong with it at all.

Author: Fine then, now, if I may... #Clears throat# One of my readers brought a question to my attention that I'm sure many of you reading have thought of. Why have two Bull anthros in my story when each God is a distinctly different race? Well, in chapter 16, Havoc listed off the order of the Gods' births. She mentioned Earth and Steel together. Because Steel is found underground just like many rocks and most the dirt on the planet, they came into being at the exact same time. So, they're twins.

Sonic: Explain the different colors then.

Author: Eh?

Tails: Their fur, it's not the same color.

Author: Oh, right, right. Well, ya see, they're not identical twins, they're Fraternal, so even though they were born at the same time, they don't necessarily have to look alike. Anymore questions?

Sonic: Yeah, wouldn't them being fraternal twins mean they don't have to both be Bulls?

Author: ... Sonic?

Sonic: Yeah?

Author: #Fires an Ice Missile and freezes him solid# Why must you insist on making me hurt you?

* * *

Havoc progressed silently down the corridor where she and her siblings' rooms were, her arms crossed loosely over her chest. It had only been a day since Igneous had spoken with Knuckles about she and Abaddon's history together. A day since she had been so sorely reminded of the attempt on her life by the hands of the man she loved. She refused to show it on the outside, but within, she was hurting. Although she was still able to continue on with her life, she felt an empty hole within. One that could not be filled no matter how much time was given. These were her lingering feelings for the mortal that had once loved her in every way possible. The one who she had given a small fragment of her own power to save. She cupped one hand over her eyes, emitting a heavy sigh. _'At least even though he knows what I'm doing, my thoughts are still my own...'_ Those thoughts very thoughts were interrupted as she felt a new weight suddenly land on her from behind, toppling her over and onto the ground. **_"HEY!"_** She landed roughly on the ground with a soft groan, looking over her shoulder only to find her youngest sister, Mistral, lying on her back, arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"**_Heya sis! What'cha thinking about?"_** Mistral grinned cheerfully, her tail wagging a bit back and forth in the air as she continued to cling to the Dark goddess.

Havoc could only chuckle softly as she sat up, gently pushing the Fox girl off of her. **_"It's nothing really, squirt. I'm more interested in why you decided to tackle me, though."_**

"**_Glomp."_**

Havoc donned a look of confusion as her sister said this word, raising an eyebrow to her. **_"What…?"_**

"**_A glomp! It's something the mortals do to each other. It's kinda a tackle-hug thing, aaand I thought I'd try it!"_**

The Dark goddess gazed at her sister as if she were some kind of fool for a moment before she began to chuckle again, gently placing a hand on the younger sibling's head as she roseto her feet. **_"You just love them, don't you?"_**

"**_Yep! I think they're the best thing that ever happened to the planet, you know?"_** She rose just the same, looking her sister dead in the eyes. **_"But seriously, what were you thinking about just now?"_**

Havoc was silent for a few seconds before sighing, ruffling her sister's hair as she began to walk by. **_"Nothing particularly special."_**

"**_You're lying to me again."_**

Havoc froze at these words, standing still for a few seconds before turning to look at her sister.

Mistral crossed her arms as she looked into the Echidna's eyes, a look bit of a disappointed look on her face. **_"It's in your eyes. Something's got you down, I know it. You can hide it with your body language all you want, but you know that I can read anyone's eyes. I've been around since nearly the beginning of time, I've had a LOT of time to practice."_**

The Dark goddess remained silent for a few moments, looking straight at her little sister. Finally, she smiled, walking back to her and embracing her. **_"Heh... it's just something your big sister has to deal with herself. Don't sweat it, squirt."_** She stepped back out of the hug, raising an eyebrow. **_"There is something that I've been meaning to bring up with you, though..."_**

Mistral's ears perked up as she heard this, cocking her head to one side. **_"Oh?"_**

Havoc grinned slightly, bending over just a bit to come to face level with her. **_"That Tails kid you raced against... you like him, don't you?"_**

Mistral could feel her cheeks light up like they had just been set ablaze, turning her face away from her eldest sister. **_"W, well, yeah, he's nice and all. Good kid, you know? Great friend!"_**

"**_Don't play dumb with me, squirt. Everyone but Radiance and Igneous saw you give him that kiss. And that was your first too, wasn't it?"_**

Mistral suddenly felt as if her fur were standing on end. She wasn't sure if her blush was showing through her it or not. Her sister had hit the nail square on the head. She turned to look at her, laughing shyly. **_"W, well, you see, it's, um, kinda like this..."_**

"**_You have the hots for him."_**, the Dark goddess stated very matter-of-factly, her grin growing wider by the second.

Mistral could only stare at her sister silently for a moment before cupping her cheeks in her hands, smiling practically from ear to ear. **_"Ooohhh, I can't help it! He's just so ADORABLE! He even took that dive off of the Sky Sanctuary Zone to try and save me, completely neglecting the fact I would've been just fine! Do you know how totally romantic that is!"_**

Havoc had to laugh a little at how excited her younger sibling was. She patted her on the shoulder a couple times before she ran the fingers of her other hand through her own hair, allowing it to rest on the back of her head. _'I suppose this kind of lunacy just has to run in this family...'_

"**_HEY, GIRLS!"_**, echoed Pyro's voice from down the corridor, attracting both of their attentions. **_"Igneous' trial's comin' up, get'cher butts in here!"_**

"**_Fine, you loudmouthed brute, we're coming! Keep your pants on!"_** She looked down to her sister, winking at her as she whispered. **_"We'll continue this little chat later."

* * *

_**

In the middle of the grass field in Igneous' realm stood a solitary circle of dirt. Within that patch of dirt was a ring of white powder, and within that ring stood Knuckles the Echidna and the Earth God Igneous, exchanging gazes with one another.

Knuckles had his arms crossed firmly over his chest, looking seriously at the Earth god. "So, what's the trial going to be?"

Igneous, who had been in the middle of his cleansing breaths, smiled softly at the Echidna's question. He halted the breaths, his body sufficiently relaxed now. **_"The trial is a test of strength. The rules are simple. The first one to set foot outside of the white ring is the loser. No catches, just that one simple rule."_**

Knuckles smirked softly, allowing his arms to fall to his sides. "Strength, huh? That shouldn't be too much of a problem then."

Igneous nodded, taking a stance similar to that of a sumo wrestler. **_"Very well then, the trial will now be-"_**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a second!", interrupted Knuckles, waving his arms through the air to grab the god's attention.

The Earth god perked an eyebrow as he stood upright once more, crossing his arms. **_"Is there a problem?"_**

Knuckles nodded softly, pointing directly at the god with one hand. "Yeah. I want to add something else into the wager. If I win, I want you to tell me exactly why Abaddon wanted Shadow in the first place."

Igneous stood silently for a moment as he stared down his opponent. Suddenly, a smirk made it's way across his lips. **_"You realize that information is extremely precious. What are you willing to wager incase you lose?"_**

"... I'll let you take the Master Emerald off of Angel Island."

Igneous' eyes widened as he heard this. He thought he may fall over, or that he may have simply been hearing things. **_"Excuse me...?"_**

Knuckles' expression was as serious as ever as he lowered his one arm, balling his hands up into fists at his sides. "If I win, you tell me all that you know on why Abaddon captured Shadow. If you win, you get to take the Master Emerald off of my island."

Igneous gazed into Knuckles' eyes. He knew he wasn't fooling around, he wanted the information just that badly. **_"Are you sure? There's no going back once I accept the terms."_**

Knuckles smirked, smacking his fists together in front of his chest. "I'm positive, because I don't have any intention of losing to you."

The Bull nodded as he heard this, taking up the stance he had before Knuckles' interruption. **_"Very well then. The trial will now begin without any further delay!"_**

The first move belonged to Knuckles, dashing right from the start. As soon as he was in striking range of the Bull, he leapt and drove his fist forward, hitting home with a haymaker right into the Earth god's chest, the force of the impact succeeding in driving him back a few feet.

Without a word, the god returned fire, bringing both hands above his head, clasping them together, and swinging them down viciously upon his opponent while he was still just within arm's reach. The blow connected, slamming Knuckles directly into the ground with such great force he actually bounced once before coming to settle upon it. Igneous didn't cease there, though. He grasped the Echidna by the arm and spun around in a 180, chucking Knuckles into the air and outside of the ring. He was silent, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched Knuckles spin in the air before beginning to plummet. What he did not count on though, was his opponent's innate ability to glide.

Just before he hit the ground, the Echidna extended his arms out, his hands balled up into tight fists as he turned sharply out of the dive, gaining a boost in speed that allowed him to pull himself up into the air by riding the draft the maneuver created. He lifted higher than even the god was able to throw him, at least 60 feet into the air before he went into a dive again, directly towards the Bull.

Igneous outstretched his own arms in an effort to catch the dive-bombing Echidna, only to feel the amplified force of Knuckles' fists and body weight crashing into his palms, knocking him back down to the ground with a grunt.

The Echidna flipped once to recover from the sudden stop brought on by the two massive hands the god held out. Even as tough as the Guardian of Angel Island was, it was still a jarring experience to collide with the deity of the Earth. As soon as Knuckles was upright in the flip, he hollered out, dropping down onto the god knee-first, followed by a powerful right-hook into the chest. The leather armor did nothing to dull the impact, as blood spurted from the god's mouth. This halted Knuckles dead in his tracks, staring with concern, wondering if he was going too far with his attacks.

"**_Why are you hesitating, mortal...?"_**

Knuckles' gaze turned to the god, only to receive one of the most aggravated looks he'd ever seen.

"**_I know what you're thinking, but keep your mind on defeating me, not on my well-being. This is not just a fight for the item or information, but for your life, the life of your mechanized comrade, and now the emerald keeping your island afloat. Do not forget that!"_** Igneous immediately wrapped one of his hands around Knuckles' waist, trapping one of his arms at his side in doing so. The god stood up, staring Knuckles down as he held him out at arm's length. **_"If you will not fight with full force for the item, then you do not deserve it!"_** The god spun around and dropped to the ground, slamming the hand with Knuckles down into the ground, cratering the dirt field and leaving an impression of Knuckles' body with the combined force of the slam and the Earth god's bodyweight.

This time, it was Knuckles' turn to cough blood. The Echidna gasped and wheezed for air as the god lifted him again. He turned his gaze to his larger opponent as he was raised up, grinning weakly. "Yeah... I see your point. Sorry about that!" Knuckles raised his fist as high as he could and dropped it down, claws first, tearing directly into the flesh at the god's wrist. This forced his grip to release, dropping Knuckles to the ground. The Echidna charged forward, passing beneath the god between his legs, only to turn and deliver a punch to the back of the knee, dropping him to the ground. He then jumped up and spiraled down, burrowing into the earth. There was silence for only a few seconds before Knuckles rose again, beneath the god, lifting him over his head, obviously straining underneath the weight. "Game... OVER!" Knuckles took one step forward, simply to start tilting the weight in the right direction as he threw the god as hard as he could out of the ring. He was confident that the match had to be over at that point.

Unfortunately for the Guardian of Angel Island, this was far from the truth. Igneous recovered in mid-air, his body beginning to glow. Suddenly, the earth next to Knuckles shot out in a spike, stopping right beneath the god as he was not a foot away from colliding with the ground. He gazed to Knuckles, taking in the look of shock at what had occurred with a bit of a grin. **_"I told you, the only rule was to put me out of the ring. Just as you saved yourself with your gliding, so did I save myself with my control over the ground."_**

Knuckles only stared in disbelief for a moment until frustration kicked in. Wordlessly, he raised his fist and slammed it down, puncturing the piece of ground suspending the God over the outside of the ring. It crumbled, and Knuckles turned his gaze, expecting to see him out of bounds. This was not the case. Instead of the rest of the soil beneath the god's feet collapsing away, it floated, fully supporting his weight. "What the...!"

"**_I have total control over the elements of the Earth, Guardian. Is it so hard to believe that I could levitate it as well as move it?"_** He smirked, kneeling down and placing a palm on it as it then began to fly forward towards the stunned Guardian, carrying the Bull with it. He drew his fist back as he approached, and threw it forward just as he passed, connecting hooking the Guardian in the gut as he pulled up, climbing straight into the air with the now breathless Echidna riding on his fist.

Knuckles spat up more blood after the initial connection, doing his best to breathe as his eyes bulged from the pain. As soon as they started climbing, he grasped onto the God's fist, growling viciously as he pulled himself up onto one knee upon it the entirety of his arm. He then leapt forward, landing on both knees on his adversary's chest, beginning to pummel mercilessly. At first, there didn't seem to be any effect, but after about the first half-dozen strikes, he could feel the god's ascent slowing. Just before the twelfth strike, he was stopped, his hand caught in the air by one of Igneous' own.

"**_That's ENOUGH FROM YOU!"_** He then threw Knuckles out into the air again, much higher than he already was. He wouldn't make the same mistake of letting Knuckles go as he did the last time, though. He would give chase this time. He charged forward at break-neck speed, his sights set upon the Guardian as he was gathering his bearings. He suddenly pulled up just as he approached, and then dove down as soon as he was above Knuckles, extending his arm to his side and once more hooking the Guardian as he passed. He didn't stop, though. Instead, he continued to dive, aiming straight for the ground, his speed continuing to build over and over again until finally, he threw his arm forward, sending Knuckles spiraling down to the earth as he pulled up out of the dive, leveling off with the ground as he began to circle around again.

Knuckles collided violently with the ground, once again cratering it. This one was deeper than it's predecessor by at least five feet, and far more steep, following the shape of Knuckles' body much more directly instead of spreading out in a wide area. By his good fortune, though, he landed at the inside edge of the ring. Although he was horribly beaten, he was not defeated yet. It took a moment for Knuckles to gather the strength he needed to rise to his feet, leaning back against one of the walls of the narrow hole dug by the force of his body colliding with the earth, breathing heavily as he shut his eyes. _'Okay... he's strong. WAY stronger than I am. Direct attacks aren't going to work against him, especially with as thrashed as I am... What can I do...? How can I drop him!'_ It was then that Knuckles' eyes snapped open in realization. He knew how he could defeat the Earth deity.

Igneous continued circling around the outside of the ring, staring at the crater, watching it as a Hawk would it's prey. It took a few moments, but he finally saw a familiar red figure climbing from the crater. He watched as the Guardian crawled out, standing at the very edge of the ring, staring him down. The god could only chuckle, clenching his free hand. **_"You have done well, Guardian, but it is obvious that you lack the strength to remove me from this match. I'd recommend quitting while you're still in one piece."_**

Knuckles huffed slightly as he heard this, crouching down with one of his hands to the ground in a manner similar to Igneous' current pose, the only difference lying in a fist drawn back behind his body. "Forget it. I won't quit fighting until you knock me out of bounds, or kill me where I stand."

Igneous nodded in response, unable to help but smile as he heard this. **_"Exactly what I was hoping to hear... very well then, I shall end it with my next strike!"_** Wasting not another second, he launched forward, on a crash course for the red Echidna, his fist cocked back, ready to swing.

Knuckles lowered his gaze to the ground briefly just as soon as he saw the Earth deity charging at him. He slammed the fist he had risen into the ground, creating a large crack in the solid earth. He then fit his hand lowest to the ground into the hole created by his claws and lifted a chunk of earth about the size of his torso. "Here, CATCH!", he announced as he threw the clump of earth at the god.

"**_Is this all you have to offer for your final strike, Guardian! Disappointing!"_** The God drew his hand across his body, and just as the earthen projectile came his way, he smacked it out of the way. He did not expect what had come next, though.

While he was focusing on the piece of earth, Knuckles had charged forward, his body low to the ground. At first, he simply passed this off as a feeble last ditch effort to save himself. He realized too late though that this was not the case. The Guardian kept his focus not on the god himself, but his transport, the mound of dirt he was riding through the air. In a single swift motion, he dove forward, fists extended out, spiraling towards the dirt in the manner of a drill as he collided with it, shattering it into countless particles and pieces.

Igneous found himself shocked by what had just occurred. Almost instantly he could feel himself flip once before coming to land back first on the ground. With a groan, he lifted himself, cupping his head in one hand as he looked behind him to the Guardian, taking note of a proud grin on his face. The deity lowered his gaze, only to find that, save for the one hand propping him up, his entire body was sitting outside of the ring. He had lost.

Knuckles approached the god proudly, coming to a stop next to him and extending his hand. "It was a great fight."

Igneous stared for a second before a grin of his own lit up on his face. He took the hand and stood, looking down at the victor of his trial proudly. **_"Yes, it was."

* * *

_**

"**_So, that was your plan to defeat me?"_**

Knuckles nodded as he sat with the god in the chamber below ground once again, a hand resting on the Gaia Gauntlets next to him on a table. "Yeah. I just kept on the edge of the ring until you charged. When you came at me, I used the dirt for a distraction, and while you had your eyes on that, I made a low charge to take out the thing keeping you in the air. After that, it was just a matter of letting gravity do the rest."

Igneous could only chuckle softly, his arms crossed and his head lowered. **_"Truly brilliant, very resourceful. With a Guardian that can think on his feet in the way you do, there's no doubt in my mind that Angel Island is in good hands."_**

Knuckles chuckled softly, a bit of an embarrassed blush appearing on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks for that. It means a lot coming from a guy whose job is to watch over the entire planet." Knuckles turned his gaze to an old fossil sitting on one of the shelves, an awkward expression appearing on his face. _'I'll just leave out the parts about those times Eggman duped me...'_

"**_Well, I believe that it's time that I let you have your other prize now..."_**

Knuckles gained a perplexed expression as he looked to the god. "Eh?"

Igneous chuckled again, reaching over and giving Knuckles a couple knocks on the head. **_"You haven't already forgotten, have you? Our extra wager, for the information on why Abaddon desired Shadow."_**

The Guardian, needless to say, was embarrassed with himself. He laughed nervously, both his hands now resting on the arms of the chair. "Oh, yeah, my mistake... Anyways, I'm listening now."

The Earth god nodded, his expression becoming much more serious. He stood from his seat, gazing at the fossil Knuckles had not a moment ago. **_"... he's after his ability to use Chaos Control without the Chaos Emeralds."_**

Knuckles scowled as he heard this, turning his gaze to the ground. "So the armor's not enough for him, huh...? Even after his boasting about how the Chaos Emeralds 'couldn't hold a candle to the power of the armor'. Bastard..."

Igneous looked to Knuckles with surprise, his arms dropping to his sides. **_"Excuse me?"_**

Knuckles looked to the Earth god grimly, rising up to his feet as his balled up fists rested at his sides. "He said his 'studies', whatever they were, brought him to the conclusion that the Chaos Emeralds, even collectively, were weaker than the armor."

Igneous could only groan in frustration as he heard this, rubbing the back of his forehead. **_"We should have expected so much from him... Listen well, Guardian. There are only two true differences between the armor and the emeralds. The Emeralds harness the energies of raw, limitless Chaos, while the armor can bend the elements composing the planet to it's will, and anyone empowered by the Emeralds is working with a time limit, while the armor has none."_** He sighed, cupping his chin for a moment before looking up towards the ceiling.**_ "But as you've no doubt been able to tell, whenever there is a Chaos Emerald nearby, there are multiple Rings to be found to power it. This was a function that was designed in the Emeralds when they were created. They generate rings so that they may be accessed in whatever zone they lie in, and so that when together, their full potential may be unleashed. But because it requires at least 50 of the rings to activate, it leaves a weakness, especially if all of the user's rings run out, since then they are forced to gather 50 rings just to initiate the Super mode once again. If you look at this evidence collectively, you will see that although they differ in strengths and weaknesses, their overall powers are fundamentally the same."_**

Knuckles nodded, a bit of a grin appearing as he heard this. "I hear you. What you're saying is that even if he does get his claws on the items, he can still be beaten, right?"

"**_Correct."_**

Knuckles sat back down again, gazing at the Gaia Gauntlets silently for a moment before he grasped them both firmly in hand. "... one more question. No offense to your sister, but the only reason he's around to give us this Hell is because she tried to save his life. I'm not blaming her for anything, but I would like to know exactly why it is that you haven't done anything to stop him. You're gods, after all. It's not like you lack the strength or ability to finish him yourselves."

Igneous fell silent at this question, his gaze now downcast to the floor. It took at least five minutes before he mustered up what he needed to respond. **_"... it's really not that simple for us... we can't imprison him since he's incapable of entering our realms, and although we have tried on your world, every method that we have attempted to seal him with has failed. Furthermore..."_**

"Furthermore...?"

"**_... none of us can bear to execute him."_**

Knuckles' eyes narrowed furiously as he heard this. He rose swiftly, raising one fist up in the air. "How can you not bear to obliterate him after the things he's done! He nearly killed your sister! Shouldn't that be enough reason in itself!"

"**_Believe me, Guardian. If we could, we would have long since ended his life. But..."_** A heavy sigh passed his lips as he leaned forward, resting his head on the shelf before him. **_"... as I have told you before, because he has assimilated a large portion of her soul, they share a link with one another. This is not simply a mental link, though... Although physical injuries cannot be shared, if he were to die at our hands, our sister would perish as well."_**

Knuckles' anger at the god subsided almost instantly as he heard this, his hand lowering down to his side. "But... you say at 'your hands'..."

Igneous sighed again, turning to fully face Knuckles, wearing a grim expression. **_"We are elemental gods. Not gods of Life and Death. Because of this, if we were to be directly involved in the death of another, their soul would be obliterated along with their body. If he contained a miniscule portion of her soul, it would not be a problem. She would be able to recover. But he contains well over half of her soul within him, and because of this, any attempts on our parts would be fatal to her. The god of Life and Death is also incapable of doing anything, as his only duty is to usher souls in and out of your plain of existence and judge where they shall be placed in birth and death. The death itself is something time alone decides, so it lies out of his jurisdiction as well. Only on extremely rare occasions will he act and obliterate a body and soul, only if even in the afterlife they pose a significant threat to the well-being of the world and cannot be contained."_**

"Well you said that he tried to absorb her once. Why can't she do the same to him?"

"**_We've thought of that. Although she can absorb the same as he, it would prove too risky. As strong as he's become, he could relieve her of the rest of her soul in a mere instant, leaving her just a doll while he would rise to become the new god of Darkness through total domination of her powers. At that point, it would be more than simply caring for our sister, but for the well-being of the Earth itself, as well as all of it's residents."_**

Knuckles sighed heavily as he heard this, his own gaze lowering to the ground. "Great... so we can fight him, but we can't kill him without killing your sister, too. Just perfect..."

"**_I never said that..."_**

Knuckles turned his gaze to Igneous, a plainly dumbfounded expression worn on his face. "Say what...?"

Igneous nodded to himself, shutting his eyes as he turned to lean his back on the bookcase. **_"I said if he were to die at OUR hands. It is because we are gods we can do nothing to kill him without killing her in the process. But you are mortals, and as distasteful as it may be sometimes, mortals can kill other mortals without causing the death of another as a direct result. The very problem in this, though, is that no mortal has ever stood a chance against him. Any who have stood up to him before have simply been lambs to the slaughter..."_**

There was silence between the two for a moment. This was not information either liked to dwell upon. Certainly, things were much more serious than the Echidna had previously thought.

Knuckles suddenly grinned as he walked to the table, grasping the Gaia Gauntlets firmly in hand before turning to face the god again. "Well, all that means is he's never faced anyone like us before then..."

Igneous stared at Knuckles for a moment, wondering where he had gotten his confidence all of the sudden. Finally, he just smiled, nodding in response.

* * *

Knuckles stood at the edge of Angel Island with Igneous and the recently re-activated Omega, overlooking the sea in the direction of Prison Island.

"**_Your destination is that place, eh?"_**

"Yeah, but I don't think even I could glide that far..." He sighed softly, his arms crossed loosely over his chest. "This is a good part of the reason why I never leave the island. I can't."

"Global Positioning systems detect that Prison Island is currently 1,837.28 miles from our current geographical coordinates."

"... yeah, I'm DEFINITELY not gliding that far."

Igneous cupped his chin as he silently pondered to himself on the matter. After a moment, he nodded, turning to the two smaller beings. **_"I should not be doing this, but... I can get you there right this minute."_**

Knuckles' eyes lit up as he heard this. An enthusiastic grin came over his face as he looked up to the god. "Seriously!"

The Earth god chuckled softly, nodding slowly. **_"Of course. After all, I AM a god."_** After those words, he turned away from the Echidna and machine, holding his arm outstretched before him, his palm flat as if pressed against a wall. In his palm, a ball of light began to form. It rapidly expanded into a massive wall of light, at least twice as wide as Omega, and just slightly taller than Igneous. From the center of the gate, an image appeared and began to expand. It was the ruins of Prison Island. He glanced over his shoulder, nodding softly as he stepped out of the way. **_"Be on your way now. This gate won't remain open for long."_**

Knuckles nodded, signaling for Omega to follow him. Just as they reached the gate, he stopped, looking to Igneous with a smirk. "We'll have to have another match sometime, just for fun. It'd be a shame not to get to face off against you ever again."

Igneous smirked, returning the nod. **_"Very well. But be warned, you won't get me with the same trick twice, Guardian."_**

Knuckles snickered softly, looking towards the gate. "I'd hope not. What would that say about you then, huh?" With that and a final wave, Knuckles stepped through the gate, followed by Omega and the Gaia Gauntlets held within the machine's grasp. The portal shut almost immediately behind them, leaving not a trace of it's existence.

"**_You're as soft as ever, big brother."_**

Igneous gazed over his shoulder to one of the many rivers running off of the island, watching as a liquid-figure emerged from the stream. Once fully out of the water, the figure solidified, revealing the goddess of Water. Igneous could only smile softly as he turned to fully face her. **_"Whatever do you mean, Tsunami?"_**

She grinned a bit as she stepped onto solid ground, walking up next to him and coming to an immediate halt at his side, facing the opposite direction he was. **_"You know what I mean. You allowed him to win, didn't you? You could have just thrown him out of the ring at any time..."_**

Igneous raised his hands up as if to say he was innocent, wearing a playful grin. **_"I've been found out, it seems."_**

She glanced to him out the corner of her eyes before slapping him once on the leg with her tail. **_"Doofus..."_**

He could only laugh softly as she did this. He was very much used to it, she always did this to him whenever he did something she counted as ridiculous. He sighed, opening another portal, this one leading back to their home realm. **_"... I believe that he and his comrades may be able to finally bring Abaddon down..."_**

"**_When he only won because you threw the match to him?"_**

"**_He performed much better than any mortal I've ever seen in all of the years the trials for the armor have existed. If the others perform as well as he did, I have a great deal of faith in the belief that they may be the ones to put a stop to this..."_**

Tsunami was silent for a moment as she stared out over the horizon, her tail flicking slightly against the grass-covered ground. She lowered her head, wearing a more solemn look than before. **_"... I hope you're right, brother. I truly do..."

* * *

_**

Author: Well, you the people have spoken, and these little author sections are going to stay! What'cha think of that, eh guys?

Rouge: ... only 4 days this time?

Author: Eh?

Tails: The story, genius.

Author: Oh, yeah. Well, I TOL'JA I was getting' serious!

Sonic: No kidding. This is a-- #Stops abruptly as he sees a Phazon cannon pointed at his face#

Author: Please, go ahead. Give me a reason to turn you into cannon fodder. Please.

Sonic: Eh, I, I'm good...

Author: #Keeps the cannon in his face for a moment, then sighs and fires it at a nearby mountain range instead, creating a molten avalanche#

Shadow: Smooooooth...

Author: CAN IT!


	21. The Strength of a Child, Part 1

**Distant Shadows Chapter 21 – The Strength of a Child, Part 1**

Author: Geh...

Rouge: Knew it wouldn't last...

Author: Cork it before I write your death scene into this chapter...

Sonic: What's keeping you so long?

Author: Rough start, okay!

Shadow: Writer's block...?

Author: Bulls-eye...

Sonic: Tch, wimp.

Author: ... you know, I'm not even gonna waste my effort blasting you this time.

Sonic: Eh... serious?

Author: Yep... #Points to the giant blood-soaked dagger-wielding Marionette# It will.

Rouge: #Watches as the slaughter ensues# ... did you...?

Author: Yep, a page outta Devil May Cry. Now, let's hope I can get something decent down on the pages.

* * *

The Starlight Zone, once the site of an urban developmental plan, was now an abandoned, lifeless construction site on the outskirts of a nearby city, a result of Eggman's occupation of the area during his first attempt at world domination. Empty buildings and ruined scaffold were scattered across the entirety of the site. Fans and lights ceased to function, a result of the power having long since been cut. Rust-lined framework and the remnants of many of the machines planted during the hostile take-over decorated the area. Many of the roller-coaster-like loops, twists and turns had rotted away or collapsed, lying hundreds of feet below on the ground. Truly, time had taken it's toll on the zone.

These are the things that Cream and her companion Cheese had been encountering for the past four days. In a decaying zone that most adults would dare not tread, a child and her pet had trekked quite a fair number of miles in it. During their trek, they had searched every nook and cranny, looking for any traces of the Radiant Shield, the item of Light that they had been assigned to recover. The occasional dangers of the ground falling out from beneath them, or something collapsing over their heads were nothing compared to the incidents encountered during their search for Chocola with Amy Rose and Big the Cat. But even with prior experience in the field of searching, they remained both cautious and aware of their surroundings.

The conditions for hunting the item seemed to be in their favor. Because of the location of the zone, the stars and Moon always shone brightly through the night sky, creating the perfect conditions for search in either the day or the night. They had taken advantage of that, searching into the early hours of the morning for the past few days. Seldom would they find a place where they would simply sit down and nap for a few hours before awakening and continuing their search again. No doubt that it was hard upon the child and her pet to continue searching so persistently, but one thing drove them forward. Determination. Determination to not simply sit on the side lines while the others did all the hard work, the determination to help, to complete the task assigned to her so that Shadow could be returned safely from Abaddon's grasp. If they could do that much to help, no matter how hard they had to work themselves to do it, they would be satisfied.

Cream sighed gently as she sat down, her back resting against a steel support beam as she looked out over the horizon. Currently the dead of night, she was exhausted. Another day of fruitless searching had passed, and her entire body ached. She looked up at the sky tiredly, gazing at the full Moon. "I wonder how all of the others are doing..."

"Chaaaooo...", responded Cheese, floating in a very wobbly manner towards it's owner. It landed down in her lap and curled up into a ball, looking wearily up towards her. "Chao, chao chao..."

The Rabbit girl gazed down at her pet, smiling sweetly as she lifted it up and cradled it in her arms. "Perhaps you're right. We probably should get some sleep..." She watched as the little creature cuddled up against her as soon as it heard those words, almost immediately falling to sleep. Unable to restrain it upon seeing this, she giggled slightly, undoubtedly amused by this. At the same time, she sympathized. Although she did want to help her friends, she also wished that she with her mother, lying back against her, gazing at the stars with her until she had fallen asleep within her embrace, safe at home with not a worry or a care in the world. The more she thought about it, the more tired that she became, until eventually, with Chao in arms, she fell asleep.

* * *

Some hours later, while Cream and Cheese still slept, a figure approached from behind. A Wolf woman approached from behind. Concealing large sections of the white fur on her body were three articles of clothing. A white silk top, a black, grey and white knee-length skirt, and tanned leather sandals with black laces wrapped halfway up her lower legs. A crystal sphere hung about her neck, glowing mysteriously at the very center with black and red light, suspended by a thin steel chain. Her pure black hair, was tied back in a braid that hung down to her waist, swaying gently as she walked up behind the sleeping child and her pet. She came to a halt, gazing at them in silence for a moment through glowing silver eyes, a stern look on her face as she grasped something in a leather pouch hanging off of a black leather belt around her waist. It was at this moment though that the child stirred. Startled by this, the Wolf woman stepped back swiftly, succeeding in hooking her heel on a rusty girder and effectively planting herself on her backside with a groan.

Cream's eyes widened as she heard the 'thump' against the floor behind her. With Chao still in arms, she turned onto her knees from her place against the beam, only to find the Wolf woman staring at her with eyes just as wide as the child's. The Rabbit girl stood up, staring silently for a couple more seconds before speaking. "Um... who are you...?"

The Wolf woman gazed to the Rabbit girl, her eyes now lacking in their glow from before. A slightly panicked look came to her face as she rose to her feet, dusting herself off and nodding softly. "U, um... m, my name's... Ailia! I was, uh, just wandering around and... yeah... that's about it..."

Cream stared at the woman silently, gazing directly into her eyes for a moment or two before a warm smile crossed her lips. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Ailia. I'm Cream the Rabbit." She bowed her head in a polite gesture, the motion waking the Chao sleeping in her arms. She raised her head as it lifted out of her arms and stretched in mid-air with a yawn, summoning a giggle from the little girl as she smiled up to the older woman again. "And this is Cheese, my Chao."

Cheese turned it's head to look at Ailia, tilting it's head as it swiftly floated forward, getting into her face, looking straight into her eyes for a moment, giving her the same look that Cream did only seconds ago. After only a moment, it smiled and dove slightly, hugging around her neck, cuddling affectionately. "Chao!"

Cream giggled as she saw this, clasping her hands together in front of her chest. "It seems that Cheese likes you, Ms. Ailia."

Ailia laughed softly, bringing a hand up to tenderly stroke the back of the small creature's head. "It seems that way..." She gently pried Cheese away and lowered it down into Cream's arms, now kneeling before the child to gaze into her eyes at level with her. "Now, why are you out here all by yourselves? It's really dangerous..."

The child, having no problem speaking the truth of the matter, released her Chao from her arms as it lifted into the air, smiling proudly at the woman. "We're looking for something called the 'Radiant Shield'. Have you heard of it, Ms. Ailia?"

Ailia scratched her chin, sighing softly as she tilted her head skywards. "Radiant Shield, huh...?" After a moment, she shook her head, wearing an apologetic expression. "Sorry, but I haven't seen anything like that around here..."

Cream nodded softly as she heard this. Admittedly, she was a little disappointed, having been hopeful that maybe this woman would be able to give them a clue as to the whereabouts of the item. _'I suppose it wouldn't be that easy...'_ She then bowed in a very respectful manner to the older woman. "Thank you anyways, Ms. Ailia."

Ailia sighed softly as she saw Cream bow, lowering her head for a moment. _'I'm... so going to get in trouble for this...'_ After a few seconds, she raised her head, grinning slightly at Cream. "Hey, how about this? What if I come along with you and give you a hand? Three heads are better than two after all, right?"

Cream, although happy that she offered, shook her head in response. "No, no, it's alright. I wouldn't want to trouble you..."

"Hey, it'd be no trouble at all! Besides, I'd feel awful if I let a little girl just out to wander on her own in this place, it's not exactly child-friendly..." She stood up, placing one hand on her hip as she gazed out over the zone. "It's a huge place, too, so three would make it easier. Really, I don't mind, otherwise I wouldn't have offered."

Cream and Cheese exchanged glances as they heard her protest to their answer. It seemed like she was nice, but she seemed to be very assertive about wanting to come along. It was somewhat suspicious, to say the least. After a moment, the Rabbit girl looked to the older woman. "Are you sure that it wouldn't be a problem?"

"Not at all. Like I said, I'd be glad to give you a hand."

Cream could only smile softly now, nodding her head gently. "Well, if it's really alright with you, then Cheese and I would be happy to have your help, Ms. Ailia."

Ailia beamed as she heard this, lowering a hand onto the Rabbit girl's head. "Alright then, I guess that makes us a team! And, hey, you don't have to be so formal. Just call me Ailia, 'kay?"

Cream blinked with some uncertainty as she heard this. She was used to addressing people as 'Mister' and 'Misses' all the time, even some of her closest friends. Regardless, she nodded in compliance. "Well, if that's alright with you, Ailia..."

The Wolf woman grinned again, removing her hand from the little girl's head. "It is, don't worry. Now, come on, let's get hunting!"

* * *

"**_I can't believe her! This is totally inexcusable!"_**, thundered a very flustered god of Fire as he loomed over a glowing white sphere, overlooking the progress of the three within the Starlight Zone.

"**_Just what are you going on about now...?"_**, enquired Tsunami, walking calmly up next to her older brother.

"**_Radiance, that's what! She's sent help to that squirt looking for the shield!"_**

"**_That's ludicrous. Not only is she too uptight about 'good' and such to do such a thing, but who would she even send...?"_** Despite her protest to his opinion on the matter, the Water goddess leaned over slightly and gazed into the sphere, staring at the woman walking alongside the Rabbit girl and the Chao. After a good, long look, her eyes widened slightly. She stood upright now, an expression of surprise and disbelief on her face. **_"... Ailia...?"_**

"**_See! It's entirely out of line, isn't it!"_**

"**_It's not that, you bonehead... HAVOC! Come here!"_**

The black Echidna appeared within seconds of her younger sister's call, an irritated expression on her face. **_"I already saw the trial the kid and the Bat had today, NOW what do you want?"_**

The Water goddess gave her eldest sister a 'come hither' gesture with her hand, her eyes still on the orb. **_"I think you should see this..."_**

She sighed heavily as she walked forward towards the orb, obviously impatient with this. **_"This had better'd be... oh God... Ailia...!"_**

"**_That's what I've been saying! Why do you act so surprised, we should be jumping on Radiance for sending help for the trial!"_**

Havoc turned a gaze of disbelief to Pyro before suddenly clocking him in the back of his head with her fist. **_"ARE YOU BRAIN DEAD!"_**

Pyro clutched the back of his head and squatted down, his eyes looking as if they were about to bulge out of his head. **_"GAAAHH, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR YOU BITCH!"_**

The goddess of Darkness turned her gaze back into the sphere, gritting her teeth. **_"Shit... when did she just pop up like this again...?"_**

Tsunami shook her head, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. **_"Apparently just now..."_**

Pyro rose to his feet, obviously furious with what had just happened. He slammed his hand down on the sphere, drawing the attention of his two sisters. **_"HEY! What the FUCK is going on here!"_**

Havoc looked to him as if he was an idiot, staring for a moment before glancing to Tsunami, then back to the god of Fire. **_"You mean you really don't know?"_**

"**_DO YOU THINK I'D BE THIS PISSED OFF IF I DID!"_**

"**_Actually..."_**

"_**TSUNAMI!"**_

The Shark woman sighed, shaking her head. **_"I swear, you two are just like children... listen, Pyro. You know that Ailia has been under Radiance's tutelage for the past 87 years, right? She went missing 23 years ago, no one could find her. How could you not know about this?"_**

"**_I...!"_** He stopped dead, a totally humiliated look appearing on his face for a moment before he crossed his arms tightly over his chest and looked away. **_"Wh, whatever... she's still Radiance's pupil, she needs to keep her under control, and having her help that twerp search is an unfair advantage. Havoc, you always know where she is, why don't you go and jump on her for it!"_**

"**_For once, you've got HALF a good idea. I will go to her, but not to attack her for it as eagerly as you would..."_** Havoc opened a portal and stepped into it, her eyes narrowed. _'Something's not right. To not only show up out of the blue like this, but to even violate the laws we set down about the trials... there had better'd be a good reason for this...'

* * *

_

In the hunt for the Radiant Shield, it was another fruitless day of searching every nook and cranny. For the child and her pet, it was very discouraging. This made 5 days with no results. Unlike the past days, they settled down for the evening on Ailia's recommendation. After finding an old tool shed, the three retired to it for the evening.

"Are you sure we should be resting like this, Ms. Ailia...?"

The Wolf woman nodded, raising an index finger with a smile. "Sure. After all, we won't be much good at searching if we're exhausted, right? Best get some good shut-eye and try again in the morning." She stretched out slightly before settling down on the floor in a corner, leaning back into it. "Why's a little kid like you running around and hunting a shield in this place anyways? Don't you have Kindergarten or something you need to be attending?"

Cream sighed as she lied back against the wall near the corner where Ailia rested. As Cheese settled down in her arms, she gazed to the floor. "A friend of mine is in trouble... and we need to find 8 items to have him freed."

Ailia narrowed her eyes slightly, bringing one knee up to her chest as she draped her arm over it. "Isn't collecting 8 items a bit much for a kid and a Chao if they're all as hard to find as this...?"

Cream shook her head swiftly, a smile once again re-appearing on her face. "No, no, not at all! In fact, there are 6 others who are helping us find them. But... we got split up..."

"How'd that happen?"

"... the man who took Mr. Shadow, Abaddon... he put us into teams, and sent myself and Cheese here by ourselves to find the items..."

"I see..." After that, there was silence between them. It was a sad thing for Ailia to hear, to know that two youths were pinned with such a heavy responsibility. She raised her head to speak again, only to find that her two traveling companions were fast asleep. This brought a smile to her lips as she leaned back, keeping her eyes on the Rabbit girl. _'Sorry I had to lie, Cream. I don't know where it is, but I do know about the shield. Hunting with you makes you my best bet for finding it...' _She lifted a hand to her chest and grasped the sphere hanging about her neck, lifting it before her eyes to gaze at the light within, now a shade of blue and gold. The brief smile was replaced by a very somber expression as she watched a brief flash of black and red light. _'... it's not going to be long now... I have to find Radiance and get her help soon, or else this is going to be the end of me... and perhaps that little girl, too...'

* * *

_

At dawn on the sixth day, the three rose and began the hunt again. For three hours, things were the same as before. Fruitless, uneventful searching for an item not seen for ages. As it would happen, though, things did not remain so uneventful for long.

About the fourth hour into their search, Ailia began to slow, her breaths suddenly becoming more labored and shallow. _'D... damn it... not now...!'_ She gazed down to her chest as a tightening pain began to form, only to see the light within the crystal sphere around her neck beginning to change colors, the golden and blue light being overtaken by black and red. Her eyes widened, and she stepped back, drawing Cream's attention in the process.

A concerned expression donned upon the child's face as she turned only to see a pained look on her companion's own. "Ailia, are you alright...?"

Ailia grit her teeth, dropping to one knee as the darkness continued to spread through out the sphere, a glow beginning to form in her eyes. She attempted to speak, to try and warn the little girl and her pet away, but could not find her voice within the pain the surged into the depths of her very soul. She slumped over onto her side and rolled onto her back, writhing in agony as she stared up at the sky. The concerned cries of Cream and Cheese rang through her ears as she continued to squirm in pain until the last ray of light within the sphere was consumed with an alternate black and red light. The glow in her eyes was now quite evident, and her pain-filled motions came to a halt. She was still, simply lying there for a moment before she sat up, a lifeless expression donned upon her face.

Although the Rabbit girl was relieved that Ailia's pain seemed to have come to an end, she was still concerned. "Ailia...? Are you alright...?" She gently laid a hand upon the Wolf woman's shoulder, waiting for a moment before giving her a gentle shake, attempting to get her attention. Nothing would work, and it was clearly worrying the child. "Ailia, please, say something! Why won't you answer!"

A few more moments, and Ailia finally responded, slowly turning her head towards Cream and Cheese, gazing at them with only a blank gaze. She slowly rose to her feet, gazing down at the child for a moment before a cold look came over her eyes. "... die..."

Before Cream had time to react, she felt something cut into her shoulder, sending her flying back and sprawling onto the floor, breathless from pain. She struggled for a moment as her body attempted to cope with the shock from whatever had just occurred before finally sitting up. Her first glance was to her shoulder, where a gash cut through the flesh, pouring blood down her arm. The sight of this frightened her horribly. She then cast her gaze to the Wolf woman, who was now holding a metallic ring in one hand, as the other delved into the pouch at her side to draw it's mate. "A... Ailia... why...?"

Ailia simply sneered in a most twisted fashion, lifting the first ring to her lips and licking what blood had collected on it from her first strike. Then, with no warning, she charged, her arms crossed before her face like an X, intent on bringing a swift end to the 6-year-old's life. Just as she approached, a familiar cry emanated from behind.

"CHAAAAAOOOO!", screeched Cheese as it dove for Ailia, crashing into her lower back and slamming her to the ground. The young creature, who had been mortified by what had happened to it's friend, had finally gotten it's bearings and gone for the attack to protect Cream. It knew something was wrong with the now crazed Wolf, but it continued it's assault after the first slam, knowing also that it's first priority was to preserve the safety of it's dearest friend.

After the first two dozen attacks, Ailia had gotten fairly fed-up with the Chao. Dropping one of her rings, she rolled off of her stomach during the creature's next dive and backhanded it, sending it flying, smashing into a support beam head-first as a result, and knocking it out. "Little pest...!", she hissed as she spat some blood. Although not horribly injured, it was still a beating, and it still hurt. She rose to her feet, only to see Cream rush to her downed friend and drop to her knees beside it.

"CHEESE!", she screamed in a panic-stricken voice, lifting and cradling the creature in her good arm. It seemed that the Chao would be alright, it was simply unconscious.

"DIE!", said Ailia again, this time in a much more ferocious tone as she charged the child once more, both her rings drawn back, prepared to strike and end the Rabbit girl's life.

"**_THAT'S ENOUGH!"_**, thundered a voice from above as a beam of light shot down between the Ailia and her prey. Just as the Wolf woman crossed into the light, she was stopped dead in her tracks with a screech and dropped to the floor, seeming to have fallen into convulsions as she gasped and twitched. As the beam of light faded, a Cat woman with snow white fur stood strong, holding a golden shield adorned with countless gems, and a Sun made of Diamonds and Topaz in the middle, radiating with freshly generated Light energies. Golden gauntlets covered the backs of her hands and extended from her wrists to just below her elbows. Atop a white satin top that exposed her belly was a sheer top of the same color that reached down the full length to her slender waist line. Satin pants of the same color reached down the full length of her legs to the thin leather laces holding her tanned sandals to the soles of her feet. Hanging about her neck was a sphere of the similar to Ailia's, except with an intense glow of white and golden light. Her ears, pierced with platinum rings, were laid back threateningly as she pointed the shield at Ailia again, her Jade eyes narrowed to the sphere hanging about the Wolf woman's neck as she used her free hand to brush a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes that had fallen free of the knee-length braid the bulk of it was tied in. **_"Sister, what do you make of this?"_**

"**_It's Abaddon's work, Radiance..."_**, announced the voice of Havoc as she rose from the ground behind her younger sister, using the Cat's shadow as a gateway. She stepped forward and knelt down beside the Wolf, grasping the pendant. **_"He's tainted it... I'll take care of her, you tend to the kid."_**

Radiance nodded as she turned to face Cream, kneeling down and setting the shield on the ground as she looked to the Rabbit girl in the eyes, her expression softening considerably. **_"Come now, little one, it's alright... Let me tend to your wound..."_**

As Radiance reached a hand out towards her, Cream recoiled, stepping back, fear abundant in her gaze as she clutched her unconscious friend close. "Wh... who are you...?"

"**_Radiance, the Goddess of Light, and I assure you, I am here to give my assistance."_** She smiled gently at Cream, keeping the hand extended towards her, simply as a peaceful gesture. She wouldn't mind if the child took it or not, she could understand the circumstances. _'If I were just attacked and two strangers showed up out of no where, I admit, I'd be quite frightened myself...'_

Cream stared in fear for a moment before her gaze faltered, beginning to blur. She looked at her left arm, which by this point was totally soaked in blood. She hadn't noticed it before now, but it was getting increasingly harder to stay conscious. Her legs were shaking along with the rest of her body, and a cold sensation swept over her, despite the warmth provided by her clothing and fur. Voices echoing in the air, the screams of Ailia, the words of the Goddess before her, they all seemed faded and slurred. She lowered herself to sit, the whims of exhaustion from blood loss and the stress both her body and mind had endured getting the better of her. Finally, after a few more moments of incomprehensible words, she blacked out.

* * *

The next thing she could register were more voices, distant and mangled at first, but slowly, they became understandable.

"**_Should we really have brought her here, Radiance?"_**

"_**She was in need of medical attention, Havoc, and you know that among us, Tsunami is the best with tending to wounds of all degrees."**_

"_**Yeah, I know, but she's still a Mortal. Bringing her here..."**_

Cream's eyes slowly opened, squinting as light hit them, taking a moment to adjust before fully opening them. Although blurry at first, her vision quickly cleared, only to behold a sight of the likes she had never seen before. The sky above, if one could call it that, was black, dotted with various colored light. To her sides, there were no walls, and as far as she could see, nothing that looked like a floor, either. There didn't even seem to be anything beneath her, despite the feeling of a solid surface on her back. And yet standing at her side were the two women from before, speaking amongst themselves.

"**_Seriously, Radiance, taking Mortals into our realms for the trials is one thing, but even when Abaddon and I were together, I NEVER brought him here, it was never permitted! What do you think that Mortus will do if he hears about this?"_**

"**_He will do nothing, you know this just as well as I. He-"_** She was cut short by the groan of the child lying before her, immediately turning her attention to the little girl. **_"Well, I see that you've come around..."_**

"Where... where am I...?"

Havoc sighed, resting her hands on her hips as she looked to her younger sister with a somewhat peeved expression. **_"You're in our world, kid, the home of the Gods and Goddesses. This is where we live. Ailia roughed you up pretty good, and my overly-sentimental sister here decided to bring you home with us..."_**

The Goddess of Light shot an irked gaze of her own to her eldest sibling before turning a smile to Cream. **_"You took quite a serious injury. We brought you here so that my sister, Tsunami, may treat you."_**

Cream settled back where the lay as she stared at the 'sky', silent for a moment before a matter came to her attention. _'Cheese...!'_ "Where's Cheese!", she frantically blurted out as she shot up. The jerking motion did no favors for her though, as she suddenly clutched her shoulder and gasped in a great deal of pain.

"**_Whoa, settle down, kid!"_**, Havoc said as she reached out, gently laying both hands on the child's shoulders, being especially careful of the injured one. **_"Your little friend's fine, he's conscious and playing with our youngest sister, Mistral. You can see him after you're patched up."_**

"**_Something which will be fairly difficult to do with the two of you looming over her like that..."_**

The three sets of eyes turned to the Water goddess, watching as she approached them. **_"Is this the child?"_**

Havoc stepped out of the way, her hands resting on her hips. **_"No, Tsunami, this is an 87-year-old man with a growth deficiency. What do you think!"_**

Tsunami shot a slightly frustrated glance to her sister, a blush lighting up her cheeks. She was used to her smart-aleck remarks, but not in front of Mortals, so it was really quite embarrassing. She simply pushed it as far towards the back of her mind as possible as she came to a stop next to Cream, immediately reaching down and grasping the girl gently by the arms as she leaned over to inspect the wound. After a moment of silence, she sighed, looking to Radiance. **_"This is nothing. It cut a couple large veins, but what's important is that you stopped the bleeding. I'll finish fixing her up, so you two just leave me to work."_**

Cream turned her head to the goddesses of Light and Darkness, her gaze pleading them not to go. Suffice to say, Tsunami's seriousness had her fairly intimidated.

Havoc, knowing that gaze, turned away and shut her eyes. **_"I'm gone…"_** With that, she faded into darkness, vanishing from sight.

Radiance ignored her sister's hasty retreat, kneeling down to level with Cream with a smile. **_"Don't be afraid, child. Tsunami may be serious, but she is also kind. You're in good hands."_** She stood, bowing politely before she vanished in the same manner as her sister.

Tsunami sighed again, her eyes focusing on Cream's wound as she thought over exactly why Radiance brought her here. _'She could've just called me there. It would've saved everyone trouble...'_ **_"Alright, let's get started..."_**

Cream turned her gaze timidly towards the Shark woman, responding with a feeble nod as she held perfectly still. She was intimidated, and not without good reason. This woman seemed even more serious than Shadow, and after going through such an ordeal with the Wolf woman from earlier, it was a source of great anxiety for her.

Tsunami stared at the child for a moment before sighing a third time, kneeling down to the child's level in the manner that Radiance did before, doing her best to on a gentle smile as she laid one hand lightly upon her wounded shoulder. **_"Just hold still, this will be quick..."_** From her hand, a pale blue glow emerged, quickly transferring into the little girl's shoulder. Almost as quickly as she set her hand down, she raised it, revealing all of the flesh and fur to be totally restored as if the wound were never there to begin with. **_"Done."_**, she plainly stated with a hint of satisfaction in her voice. After all, just because she was serious, that didn't mean she didn't like helping people.

Cream gazed to her shoulder, stunned by what she saw. It was as if she were never attacked. She examined it for a moment, giving it a gentle pinch to make sure she wasn't dreaming or seeing things. She looked back to the Goddess with a smile and a nod. "Thank you..."

Tsunami nodded, remaining at level with the child as she gazed into her eyes. **_"Now... your name is Cream, correct?"_**

"Yes."

Tsunami sighed and stood up, crossing her arms. **_"Tell me... why are you doing as Abaddon tells you and searching for the Radiant Shield?"_**

Cream looked curiously at the goddess for a moment before turning her gaze downward, cupping her hands together. "Well... I want to help... Mr. Shadow's in trouble, and Ms. Rouge is working so hard, and so is everybody else... I'd feel bad if I just sat back and watched..."

"**_You do understand that it's not just the black Hedgehog's life at stake here, correct?"_**

Cream looked up once again, a perplexed expression on her face. "Huh...?"

"**_I thought as much..."_**, Tsunami softly replied. She snapped her fingers, causing a seat of ice to form from what seemed to be the floor behind her. She sat upon it, leaning forward slightly to allow her arms to rest upon her legs. **_"The trials for the items are not simply things you can walk away from. When you accept the trial, you get one chance. If you're victorious, you walk away with the item you competed for. If you fail, though, you not only do not receive the item, but you lose your life, and as a result, your soul as well."_**

A sense of fear crept into the Rabbit girl's heart as she heard this, revealing itself through her eyes as she had to force herself to keep eye contact with the goddess. "But... but why does it have to be like that...?"

"**_That is the nature of the trials. Those who can't pass the first time are deemed unworthy to inherit the items. It's also a way to keep them from spreading information about that particular trial or its where-abouts to keep it from becoming easier. Furthermore..."_**, she trailed off there, turning her eyes towards the floor as she clasped her hands together. She was silent for a moment, tightening and loosening the grip her hands had on one another before nodding to herself, as if reassuring herself of what she was about to say. **_"... furthermore... the items can feed off of souls. Their strength grows with each soul they devour individually. Naturally, the added strength is depleted when the souls they collect run out of energy and are eradicated, but it can take quite some time. Even the weakest soul can power each piece of the armor for at least a week... Of course, if it collects a large amount of souls while no one wears it, it can actually possess anyone who it comes in contact with that doesn't have the strength to resist. I'm sure you can recall when my item, the Sea Greaves, fell into the hands of your little robotic friend..."_**

Cream was silent at this point, her shoulders sulking and her eyes wide. She wasn't sure what to think. She couldn't understand why the 8 items they were hunting had such unbelievably cruel consequences for failure. What bothered her the most, though, was the fact that it could absorb and eradicate souls simply as a source of added power, and it was this power that had hospitalized her mother and destroyed her home. She dwelt upon those very thoughts for a few moments before an expression of anger and sadness mixed together emerged on her face. She suddenly jumped forward off of the surface she had been sitting upon, landing just a couple feet from the goddess, looking up to her with accusing eyes. "Why! Why would you make something so horrible! Why would you have people's lives taken and their souls destroyed! That's just, just...!" She tore her gaze away, her entire body quivering. Her anger subsided slowly, turning into pure sadness, unable to help but feel badly for those that had been consumed by the armor. She simply couldn't understand why someone would want to create something like that.

If the look she received from the child hadn't been bad enough, the words accompanying it simply added to the cutting effect they had. She sighed, finding herself at a loss for words for a moment after the child's outburst. Finally, she slid off her chair and knelt before Cream, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. **_"... I know... it's a horrible thing. You're right, there is no excuse for us to have created such an abominable thing... but what is done cannot be undone..."_** She slowly rose to her feet, allowing her hand to slide off of Cream's shoulder and back to her side as she gazed down at the little girl. **_"... this is why I brought this up with you... you need to make a choice knowing the consequences of what you're doing... take some time to think about it, and call for Radiance or myself when you've decided if you still wish to take the trial. Be sure whatever your decision, it's what you want to do..."_** Without another word, she simply faded out, leaving the child to think of all that had just been said.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Radiance... I know I wasn't supposed to help the kid, but I had to find you."

The goddess of Light sighed as she sat alone in a room with Ailia, clasping her hands together before her face as she leaned upon a table before her. **_"It's alright... the circumstances considered, I'm sure that everyone will understand... but I can't believe that he's become strong enough to taint a crystal that I handmade from scratch and invested my power into..."_**

Ailia nodded, holding her head in her hands as she stared down onto the table top. "Yeah... he got me years ago, and started experimenting with it. He eventually figured out enough about it to inject controlled amounts of Darkness into it that wouldn't be eradicated on contact. From there it was just a slow process of tainting and consuming it... He let me go to find the kid during one of the phases the Darkness had full control of me so that I could annihilate her."

Radiance shut her eyes, silent for a moment before she opened them again, looking to Ailia. **_"And about the black Hedgehog I we spoke of a little earlier... does he have any honest intentions of returning him...?"_**

Ailia lowered her hands as they balled into fists, shaking her head solemnly. "No... He gloated about it to me not long after he broke them off into teams. He wants everything. The Armor, Havoc's powers, the ability to use Chaos Control... he's not going to stop until he can bend everything to his will. Right now he's studying that black Hedgehog, putting him through all kinds of experiments to try and figure out exactly what gives him the ability to use Chaos Control without the Emeralds, and he intends to keep him until he knows how it works and can adapt it... egh, what am I telling you for? Havoc's probably already filled you in, right? I mean, they have that link..."

Radiance narrowed her eyes seriously, lowering her hands. **_"No... she never mentioned anything about attempts to gain Chaos Control before..."_**

Ailia's eyes widened, quite surprised by what she had just heard. "Huh? B, but hasn't Havoc always let you in on whatever trouble he was stirring up before?"

"**_Yes... and I don't doubt she would tell us if she knew... but she has said nothing, which leaves us one of two possibilities. The first, be it out of fear, the desire to handle it alone, or some other reason, she is withholding information from us. The second..."_**

"... is that he's found some way to keep her from knowing, to block out her perception in the link they share..."

"**_Correct..."_**, responded Radiance in a most somber tone. **_"And since we both know that the former of the two options could not be, it must be the latter..."_**

"But... if he could block her, then why just with that? Why not cut her off entirely and leave you guys in the dark?"

Radiance rose from her seat with a sigh, turning her back to her pupil and walking a few feet from the table. A gate of light opened before her, quickly revealing the image of a sunny field filled with flowers, trees, and various forms of wildlife. As she gazed through the gate, she clasped her hands together behind her back, her thumbs slowly rubbing against one another. **_"... I believe that there are two reasons... The first, he is cocky. He was confident enough before the Darkness overtook him, but since that time, his confidence has grown into pure arrogance. He believes that he cannot be beaten because he holds such a large portion of my sister's soul within him... as for the second reason, there may be some strategy behind it. It's very possible he intended to mislead us into believing the armor was all he was after, so that if or when he became able to harness Chaos Control without the use of the Emeralds themselves, he could catch us off our guard..."_**

Ailia turned her gaze away from Radiance and off to the side, simply staring at the lights floating around. "... do you think that we should tell Havoc...?"

Radiance sighed softly, turning to Ailia, causing the portal she was gazing into to close as a direct response to her altered attention. **_"No... We must assume that Havoc can still act as a transmission circuit for messages, that her eyes and ears are also his eyes and ears. For now, we will simply have to keep this from her for all our sakes..."_** She walked back to the table, past her side and to Ailia's. She removed one of her hands from behind her back, now holding in it the sphere that had been hanging about Ailia's neck. **_"Havoc extracted the Darkness for you, so you no longer need to fear becoming controlled by him..."_**

Ailia bowed her head respectfully as she reached up and grasped the crystal gently from her mentor's hand, finding the chain it was suspended by and once more slipping it over her head and around her neck. "Thank you, Radiance..."

The goddess merely smiled, nodding softly and turning away. **_"And thank you for returning safely, and with this information no less... Now, I must speak with my siblings, so we shall talk more later."_** With that, Radiance walked off, fading from view after taking only a few steps.

In the depths of Prison Island, Abaddon sat in his office, snickering softly as he gazed at a sphere of black light. He had been watching, watching Ailia's progress, watching her every move. He knew that the fact that he could see nothing anymore meant one of two things. The Crystal Sphere he had tainted had been purified, or it had entered the realm of the Gods and Goddesses, where from there, it most likely would have been purified anyways. He had been staring at this sphere, simply watching it for the past hour or so since it had gone dark. It was at this point he simply waved his hand, dispelling it. He lowered his feet from the desk before him and rose to his feet, looking into his clawed hand with a satisfied smirk. "The pieces are all falling into place... it won't be long now before it's all mine... the armor, Chaos Control... and even you, Havoc... All. Mine."

* * *

Author: There, done, finally.

Rouge: I'm kind of surprised. Normally you don't have these kinds of problems writing the chapters...

Author: Eh, in all honesty, unlike the others, I had NO idea what I was gonna do with Cream once I got to her... I actually had to stop and think about it for a change.

Shadow: So winging it doesn't make the cut ALL the time, huh?

Author: ... eh, works fine for me.

Amy Rose: #Works on patching Sonic back together with duct tape and staples# Well have you at least got something for the next chapter?

Author: Yeah, that I do, and after that, it oughtta be smooth sailin'.

Sonic: He says that now...

Author: ... #Kicks the blue Hedgehog down an elevator shaft and chucks a Bob-Omb in after him#

Amy Rose: SONIC! #Dives in#

Author: ... um... oohhh boy. #Twitches at the sound of the crash, followed by the explosion#

Rouge: So now she's dead in AND out of story...

Author: Wwwwwwweeeeell... bye folks! See ya next chapter!


	22. The Strength of a Child, Part 2

**Distant Shadows Chapter 22 – The Strength of a Child, Part 2**

Rouge: So, have you fixed Sonic and Amy yet?

Author: Um... sorta...

Rouge: What do you mean 'sorta'...? #Perks an eyebrow#

Author: Well... sorta... you know, like... almost.

Shadow: Just what did you do this time?

Author: Wwwwweeeeeeeeell...

Abaddon: Come out with it, you fool...

Author: ... #Points to a large pink and blue Hedgehog with 2 heads#

Rouge: What the HELL is that?!

Author: Um... Sonamy?

Shadow: #Dies laughing off in a corner of the room#

Amy Rose: I know I always said I wanted to be together with Sonic, but I didn't really mean it like this...

Tails: Is it a boy or a girl?

Sonic: CAN WE GET THIS FIXED ALREADY?!!

Author: ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT! Jeez, I've still got another chapter before it's important, chill... #Revs the chainsaw and gets to work#

* * *

"**_That is our current situation."_**, said Radiance as she completed briefing her six younger siblings on the news that Ailia had brought to her attention. **_"If Chaos Control is also one of his goals, then we may have to act directly..."_**

"**_Radiance, you can't mean that we take the fight to him, can you?"_**, questioned Mistral with a touch of concern in her voice. **_"I mean, you know what'll happen..."_**

The goddess of Light sighed, clasping her hands together in front of her face as she leaned slightly into them. **_"I'm afraid so, Mistral. There was but a sliver of hope for the world when we believed his goals to be only Havoc's powers and the armor, but if he were to gain a hold over Chaos Control, with or without the Emeralds, then he would be virtually unstoppable. Our only option would be to intervene and stop him ourselves."_**

Igneous, who had been called from his own realm due to the urgency of the meeting, had his eyes narrowed. **_"There must be a way to stop him before he can achieve any of his three goals. We should act now."_**

Tsunami turned a solemn gaze to her older brother, gently shaking her head. **_"You know as well as the rest of us that we can do nothing before the threat has been one-hundred percent assured. If we were to act in the unlikely, rather, EXTREMELY unlikely, event that he would withdraw, despite how minute the possibility is, we would be violating the laws that were set down at the very beginning of our order. We're forbidden from doing that, and you know it."_**

"**_But why can't we make an exception in this case?!"_**, Orchard said with a great deal of frustration in both his voice and face. **_"This is our sister we're talking about, not some random stranger off the street! Why should she have to pay the price that twisted freak should?!"_**

"**_ORCHARD!"_**, thundered Tsunami as she shot to her feet from where she sat, obviously on the verge of lashing out at him for his words. Before she could get another word out, a hand came to rest gently on her shoulder, drawing her attention to her oldest brother, Pyro, taking notice of the unusually calm expression on his face, one that he seldom donned. She knew that it was when he was calm that he was the most serious, and this was her sign to back down before he got involved. She shut her eyes and settled back into her seat again, attempting to calm herself.

Pyro turned his gaze from Tsunami to Orchard as soon as he was sure she'd settled down enough, leaning forward onto his own part of their conference table. **_"Listen, little bro. None of us like this any more than you do, and you know that if there was any other way to go about it that wouldn't be lethal to Havoc, then we'd jump at that chance. But there is none. The moment he gets his claws on all three of his objectives, we HAVE to act."_**

"**_We should act if he gets his hands on Chaos Control, first."_**, calmly interjected Mistral. **_"He can't access us through our own means of transport because he's neither Mortal nor God at this point and our powers reject him because of it, but if he were to get Chaos Control, he could just skip our gateways and come directly here. It wouldn't be hard to figure out just what his goal was then..."_**

"**_Havoc..."_**, said Forge, obviously distressed by this fact. **_"He'd immediately search her out and rob her of what's left of her soul so that he may become the new God of Darkness."_**

"**_It would still be 7-on-1, though."_**, calmly stated Igneous.**_ "We'd have the advantage."_**

Tsunami nodded softly, gazing down onto the table before her. **_"True, but this is why have to assume he won't do anything until he at least has the armor, should he learn Chaos Control first. Abaddon may be cocky, but he's no fool. He knows what would happen if he came after Havoc as he currently is. As much as it pains me to say it, if he did succeed in removing Havoc's soul, we would have nothing to lose. We would not be able to draw her soul back into her own body unless she were able to call it back herself."_**

Orchard grit his teeth, his fists clenched to the point that his knuckles were white beneath his feathers. **_"Damn it...! It's not fair! No matter what we try to do or come up with, we're going to lose our sister to that bastard!"_**

Radiance sighed, bowing her head slightly as she shut her eyes. **_"... perhaps now would be a good time for us to bring our meeting to a close. We shall meet again on the matter later to further discuss our options, but for now, we should focus on calming our nerves and resting our minds... Also, Tsunami, may I speak with you privately?"_**

The Water goddess nodded softly, remaining in her seat as her other 5 siblings dispersed, waiting quietly until they were all gone before turning her full attention to her elder sister. **_"What did you want to speak with me about, Radiance?"_**

Radiance raised her gaze to Tsunami, donning a very serious expression. **_"I understand you took it upon yourself to speak with the child about the nature of the trials."_**

Tsunami seemed to freeze for a moment as this was brought up. She tucked her feet beneath her chair and shut her eyes, clasping her hands together as they came to rest upon the table. **_"Yes... I did, Radiance."_**

"**_What specific details did you release?"_**

"**_Only what was permitted, the nature of the trials and their consequences and rewards. She had no idea of what she was getting herself into, and I could not permit a child to so willingly throw her life on the line without knowing what all Mortals should be aware of."_**

"_**And has she come to a decision on what she will do from here?"**_

Tsunami gently shook her head, her gaze once more falling upon her sister. **_"No. I left her with instructions to call one of us once she made her decision, but I have heard nothing, and I assume it's the same for you."_**

Radiance nodded softly in response to the Shark woman's assumption, rising to her feet. **_"Very well then. Thank you for your time, Tsunami, you may go now."_**

Tsunami nodded softly, rising from her seat and turning away. As she began to walk off, she cast a glance to her elder sister over her shoulder, her eyes showing a sense of pity for her. _'She hates these trials more than any of us... and yet she goes about it in such a business-like manner, even with this child... I suppose that must be her way of coping...'_

As Tsunami vanished and left Radiance alone in the room, the goddess of Light let out a heavy sigh. **_"Will these damned trials will ever come to an end...?"

* * *

_**

Cream sighed heavily as she sat with her back against what she assumed was a wall in the abstract room. The words that Tsunami had left her with weighed heavily on her mind. Sure, she had gone in pursuit of Dr. Eggman before with the aide of her friends along the way, and from the first adventure, she knew that she was putting her life at risk. She always did it without a second thought before. But this was something more. If she were to accept the trial and emerge victorious, she would be taking with her the item she had come in search of. Of course, that would also put souls of innocents at risk just as a result of the item's mere presence. At the same time, if she were to lose, she would lose her own life and soul, and Shadow would be lost to them. Even if she did not participate in the trial and left with her life, the item would not be in her possession, and she doubted that Abaddon would free the black Hedgehog without all of the pieces of the armor. It seemed that no matter what she did, someone would have to pay a grave price.

"**_Hey squirt, hungry?"_**

Cream's gaze rose to the direction the voice emanated from, her eyes falling upon the goddess of Wind, Mistral, carrying a basket of fruits under one arm. A smile came over her lips as she saw a familiar figure hovering off the goddess' shoulder, her Chao, Cheese. "Cheese!"

"Chao chao!", cried the little creature as it bolted over towards its friend, practically tackling her as it flew into her arms and began nuzzling her with a great deal of affection.

Cream giggled softly, hugging onto the Chao tightly, feeling a great sense of relief wash over her. "I'm so happy that you're alright, Cheese...!"

"**_Looks like you were just as worried about him as he was about you."_**, chimed the Wind goddess with a smile as she sat down next to the Rabbit girl, setting the basket between them and holding an apple out to her. **_"My name's Mistral, nice to meet'cha."_**

Cream nodded softly, taking the apple with her free hand as she continued to hug Cheese with the other arm. "My name's Cream, it's nice to meet you too, Ms. Mistral."

"**_So, I'm guessing you two've known each other for a while, huh?"_**

"Yes. We've been friends for as long as I can remember, we're really close."

Mistral nodded, picking one grape off of a bunch that she had liberated from the basket, popping it into her mouth and quickly chewing and swallowing it before looking up to the top of the area. **_"That's always good. Childhood friends are invaluable, especially ones you've had for that long."_**

Cream glanced inquisitively towards Mistral, allowing her friend in her arms to have the apple she was given. "Do you have any friends like that, Ms. Mistral?"

Mistral paused for just a few seconds before a soft grin came over her lips, accompanied by a weak chuckle. **_"Well, no, not really. My childhood ended a long time before you Mortals came along. I had a lot of animal friends when I was a little girl, but, that's about it. No one like Cheese here though."_** She reached over and gently stroked the Chao's head, her thumb rubbing by the sphere floating right above it. **_"Of course, I have had other good friends, but I outlived them all. Your other two friends, Tails and Rouge, they're the first ones I've had in at least a good 20 years."_**

Cream's eyes widened at the mention of Tails and Rouge, leaning over slightly to come closer to the Fox girl. "Tails and Ms. Rouge?! You met them?!"

"**_Yep! They came and went pretty fast, but I had fun with them. They're good people, so it's no wonder why you agreed to help them and take on Radiance's trial."_**

Cream felt a jabbing sensation as she heard the Wind goddess mention that she had accepted Radiance's trial. She leaned back from Mistral into the position she was in before, lowering her head, her troubled look returning. "Well... I haven't... really accepted the trial yet..."

Mistral looked curiously to Cream, gazing at her for a moment before it struck her. Earlier, just as she'd left the conference about the new information that Ailia brought back with her, she overheard Radiance mention something about Tsunami talking with Cream about the trials. She'd merely brushed it off as none of her business at first, but now it clicked, and she realized she had probably only been just informed about all the rules surrounding the trials. She set the grapes back into the basket before laying a hand gently on the Rabbit girl's back below her neck, wearing a gentle smile on her lips. **_"Hey, it's no big deal. These aren't just everyday things you can dive head first into without a thought. It's a pretty heavy choice. Heck, the fact that you've come this far with Cheese here is really admirable for someone so young."_**

Cream nodded softly, shutting her eyes with a sigh of her own. "I know... my friends are really counting on me... but... it's just so awful that this thing can take souls..."

"**_Ah, yeah, that feature... I wasn't a particular fan of it myself... none of us are, really..."_**

"But... then why would you make something that could do that...?"

Mistral shut her eyes, drawing her hand back from Cream as she leaned against the wall behind them. **_"Well... a long time ago, there was a war. Not like your one country against another country type of war, this was on a global scale. The destruction was unbelievable, millions of lives were lost, and it was all because of one guy and his army. He was a Lion named Schwarzes, and he was rotten to the core, pure evil. He wanted to rule the world, and he actually had the power to do it because he was infused with Chaos energy. Not like your friend Shadow, this stuff actually ran through his veins and surged through his soul, and he was a master at controlling it. He actually gave the energy physical form to create his army, and he was conquering one country after the other with little effort. It seemed like all hope was lost for you mortals, really."_**

Cream, whose gaze had been fixed on the goddess since she'd started her story, tilted her head just slightly to one side. "But, why couldn't you do anything, Ms. Mistral?"

Mistral crossed her arms, a look of slight frustration appearing on her face. **_"It's because of some stupid rule saying that we can't interfere in the doings of mortals that Havoc and Radiance put into effect. We control our respective elements and can help to the extent that our element can reach, like stopping tornadoes or calming earthquakes and stuff, but we can't step in on wars, battles, kidnappings, basically anything your people start unless there's a crisis that threatens the very existence of all life. It's ridiculous, really. They say it's to 'help preserve balance between our realms'. Pfft, my butt..."_** She sighed, shaking her head softly at herself. She'd gone off on a tangent and totally side-tracked herself, a bad habit of hers that would pop up sometimes whenever something really flustered her. **_"Well, back to the story. Schwarzes was really moving along, just taking one country after the other. But when it got to one particular country, Celes, that's when the fight REALLY started. Back then, Celes was the most advanced country in terms of technology and their ability to fight, almost half a century ahead of any other countries out there in terms of their development. It was a fierce battle, and it dragged out for a good few months, nonstop day and night. Eventually, though, Celes began to give way, and the signs of its defeat were on the horizon. It wouldn't be long before they were conquered too. It was at about that point that they started begging us for help of some kind. Of course, we couldn't step in because of the law Radiance and Havoc set in place..."_**

By this point, Cream was totally captivated by the story, at the same time eating through a Pear that she had grasped from the basket. At the point that Mistral trailed off, she scooted closer, her look begging the goddess to continue. "So, what'd you do then...?"

Mistral looked to Cream as if she were some kind of fool for a second before remembering that she was still talking to a child. A soft chuckle passed her lips as she rose her right hand next to her face, her index finger raised alone on her hand as if she were about to make a point. **_"Well, we knew that even if we DID step in and kill him, he could use Chaos Control to free himself from his place of judgment, and it's possible that he'd be able to give himself a body of Chaos energy just like he did with his army. Since nothing we could make could keep him from using Chaos Control to free himself, we had to make something to totally erase his existence to prevent this problem. So, after about a week of talking and deliberation, we decided to make the Elemental Armor. Each of us invested a large amount of our powers into it when it was forged, and we presented it to the people of Celes so they could take care of Schwarzes' army. They chose their best warrior to don the armor, a white Tiger named Blanc. With the rest of their army and what little they had left to fight with, they charged into battle. It was a brutal last stand, a lot of Celes' warriors were slaughtered in the battle. But with the armor backing them with the power of all 8 elements, they were able to force their way through, and come face to face with Schwarzes. It was the final battle, one-on-one since no one else but Blanc could measure up to Schwarzes' power. It was pretty short for an epic battle, but as intense as any of them. In the end, Blanc poured all the energy from all 8 elements he could gather, and put a shot straight through Schwarzes' heart, putting an end to the slaughter that he'd been taking with him across the globe. With that done, he returned the armor to us and requested that it be placed somewhere where no regular person could get to it, so to honor his request, we split the armor into the 8 items it was made up of and created the trials. The rest is pretty much history."_**

Cream was totally silent as she ran over the story once or twice more in her mind, allowing the events to play out in her head as they were described by the goddess. She was amazed by the back story that had accompanied this armor. She turned her gaze to her the ground, simply staring at it. "I didn't know that the armor was made for that..."

"**_Most people don't. It made it into books as legend, but there are a lot of inconsistencies, so you won't hear the same story I just told you unless you find some ancient scroll or something."_**

The Rabbit girl sighed softly, hugging her legs up against her chest. "But... the armor's still dangerous... I don't know if I should take the trial..."

"**_Well... I want you to think about it like this."_**, Mistral stated, gazing over to the child with a smile. **_"We told Blanc the same thing about the armor, about what it does to souls, but he still took it, and he still fought for his people. Now, why do you think that he did that if he knew that the armor devoured souls?"_**

Cream looked to Mistral, somewhat perplexed by this question. She then returned her gaze to the ground, pondering on this question. _'Why did he take it...? If he knew, what was it that made him want to use something like that...?'_ She remained silent for a few moments before she realized it. She looked over to Mistral, now shifting to sit upon her legs. "He took the armor to protect his friends, right?"

Mistral grinned, flying a thumbs-up towards her. **_"Exactly. He did it because he wanted to protect those who were dear to him, just like how you guys are trying to save Shadow. He did it because it was what he felt in his heart was the right thing to do."_** The goddess of Wind rose to her feet, placing her hands on her hips as she looked down at the little girl. **_"Now, think about it. Has it been your heart telling you that saving Shadow wasn't worth the souls of others, or has it been telling you that it's worth the risk?"_**

Cream lowered her gaze yet again, totally silent. She was back at square one, but this time, she had new insight. She took a deep breath to relax herself and shut her eyes, allowing her heart and mind to sort themselves out. She said nothing, and was totally still for a good few moments before she rose her gaze to the goddess with a nod. "I... I've decided..."

* * *

Only moments later, the Rabbit girl and her Chao were standing face to face with the goddess of Light, determined expressions upon both of their faces.

Radiance had a somewhat uncomfortable look upon her own features, her arms crossed loosely over the lower part of her chest. **_"Are you sure that this is what you want to do, child?"_**

Cream nodded softly, clenching her fists at her sides to re-enforce her resolve. "Yes... I've decided to take the trial."

"**_You do realize that there is no turning back from it once it begins, correct?"_**

"Yes, Ms. Radiance."

Radiance sighed heavily, shutting her eyes and pausing. She had to give the child credit for her bravery. There was no fault in her words or in her gaze. **_"Very well then, the trial will begin immediately."_**

The area was suddenly engulfed in a flash of light, blinding Cream and Cheese. As quickly as it appeared though, it faded, returning Cream her sight. She gazed around, finding herself standing in the middle of a field of countless flowers, divided into groups and sections separated by streams of crystal clear water. Lilacs, Daisies, Roses, Morning Glories, Lilies, and Carnations were just a few among the hundreds of visible species she could see. She finally turned her gaze to the section of the field she stood upon, taking notice of a unique characteristic. There were far, far fewer flowers, and the island of land she was on was much smaller than the rest, perhaps a tenth of the size of the others. What truly alarmed her, though, was the fact that her companion, Cheese, was missing again. "Cheese?! Where are you?!"

"**_Your friend is here, Cream."_**

The Rabbit girl swiftly spun around, laying her eyes upon Radiance where she stood on a different segment of land. In her arms was a transparent Chao Egg, revealing Cheese's unconscious form within. This sent the Rabbit girl into an even greater state of alarm as she stepped forward to the edge of the island. "What did you do to Cheese?!"

"**_Calm down, he is in no danger, but I have done nothing. This is the first time a Chao has ever been involved in the trials, and we did not have a consequence for these creatures' participation before. This has fallen under the jurisdiction of Chaos, and it has decided that if you are to fail, your Chao will not lose its soul. Instead, it will be reborn with no memory of you, this place, or anything that has occurred in this life."_**

Cream fell totally silent for a moment after she heard this before emitting a soft sigh, a slight smile coming over her lips. _'At least he'll be safe if I don't make it...'_ She blinked, donning a confused expression upon her face soon after a thought struck her. "But, weren't we supposed to take the trial together...?"

Radiance shook her head slowly, stepping forward over the stream and passing by Cream. **_"The nature of this trial is designed so that one person may take it at any time and no more. If more than one means to participate, than the others will be placed into a state of suspended animation so that they may not assist the one currently taking the trial, or have an unfair advantage by learning about the trial before it is their turn. In the case of your Chao though, since all of their species displays intelligence equal to that of a two-year-old, at best, it cannot participate. Basically, its future relies upon whether you succeed or fail at this trial. Anymore questions, or are you ready for me to explain the trial to you?"_**

Cream sighed softly as she heard the last part about Cheese's future lying in her hands. It was a little more pressure, but it would not shake her determination to succeed. She turned to face the goddess with a smile, doing her best to take it all in stride. "I'm ready, Ms. Radiance."

Radiance nodded, currently knelt down before the small group of flowers in the middle of Cream's plot of land. **_"Very well then. Your trial is a riddle. Answer it correctly, and you and your friend will leave with the Radiant Shield in grasp. Fail, and you will become a part of the landscape."_** Radiance pressed the palm of her free hand flat against the ground, causing it to pulse. She then rose to her feet with a sigh, walking off of the plot of land. **_"Here is your riddle. _'What is the longest and yet the shortest thing in the world? The swiftest and yet the slowest, the most divisible and the most extended, the least valued and the most regretted, without which nothing can be done, which devours everything, ****however small, and yet opens the life and spirit to every object, however great?'_ This is it, child. Good luck."_**

Cream felt almost overwhelmed by the question, totally contrary to the attitude she was attempting to take earlier. She did her best to calm herself, quickly taking a deep breath in an attempt to relax. As soon as she exhaled though, she felt an odd tug on her feet, and then the feeling of weight being attached to the soles of her shoes. She looked down, her eyes widening at the sight she was beholding. She had actually taken root into the ground, and her feet were turning green. Her mind immediately returned her to just seconds ago when she saw Radiance by the flowers, followed by the ground pulsing with light. It didn't take her long to figure out what was happening to her after that. She was becoming a flower.

Radiance lowered herself to the ground, sitting upon her legs and setting the Chao egg in her lap as she watched the trial progress. She could see the panic in the little girl's face as she watched her feet take on a light green tone, signaling the start of the major changes. _'She will transform from the feet up for about 10 minutes. If she cannot answer correctly in the time limit, then she will become a flower. It's the same thing every time, and no one has ever succeeded in this trial... I fear that this child has only resigned herself to an eternity of gathering water and sunlight...'_

By this point, Cream had settled down and composed herself, taking multiple deep breaths and relaxing her body. She was still very afraid of what would happen to her after the trial, but that was simply all the more motivation for her to succeed. _'Alright... I'm changing quickly, so I haven't got too much time. I've got to think of the answer to this riddle before time runs out... but, where do I start...?'

* * *

_

Mistral sat alone in the conference area, gazing into the white sphere used to view the trial she had put Tails and Rouge through. She sighed, looking at the little girl with a sense of pity. _"**It's all that damned Abaddon's fault. That's the reason all of these guys are being put through this living Hell..."**_

"**_When you're dealing with someone as twisted as he is, what do you expect?"_**

Mistral turned her gaze over her shoulder to Havoc, giving her a soft smile. **_"You'd know, huh?"_**

Havoc snickered softly, settling down by her younger sister and looking into the sphere, watching the trial progress. **_"I'm surprised that you're here. You normally hate the trials Radiance and I have."_**

"**_Well, there's no action to them. What, you choke someone or make them a part of the greenery? I'd rather have my teeth pulled, thanks."_**, she said with a soft chuckle. She leaned over against her sister, cuddling against her slightly, a look of discomfort soon appearing upon her features. **_"... but... I am worried about the kid… it's not fair that she's gotta be put through this awful mess because of that jerk."_**

Havoc wrapped her arms about her sister's shoulders and shut her eyes, turning to face her and allowing her forehead to rest against the top of her sister's, something she had done since they were children to comfort the Fox girl whenever she sensed distress within her. **_"I know, Mistral, I know... it's not fair." _**

Mistral shut her eyes as well, wrapping her arms about her sister's back and pulling close. **_"I feel awful for Radiance, too... she objected the most of any of us when we gave the armor the ability to absorb souls, and I've seen it in her eyes whenever we talk about the trials. She loathes them. She puts on a strong front, but..."_**

"**_I know... but there's nothing we can do about it. The armor's in the mortals' hands, and unless something major happens, we don't have a say in its fate..."_**

"**_That's even worse, especially this time around!"_**, protested Mistral, looking to her elder sister with great frustration. **_"It's going to that damned Abaddon! It's not like it's any secret what he's going to do with it, he's going to try and take over everything! And, you... sis..."_** She grit her teeth and shut her eyes tightly, hugging tighter up against her and shaking her head as tears began to stream down her cheeks. **_"You... you're linked to him... and if it comes down to it, if we've gotta take him out ourselves, then..."_**

"**_... I know, Mistral... I know..."_** She clutched onto her tighter, allowing her sister to simply cry against her, stroking the back of her neck gently. **_"But we've talked about this before... you know that if it comes down to it, that we have a greater duty to the world than we do to our own interests. That's our biggest responsibility as Gods and Goddesses..."_**

Mistral's tears slowed significantly as she heard this, loosening her grip on her sister. There was only the sound of her sniffling for a few moments as she laid against her sister. Then, simply out of the blue, she muttered something that Havoc had never expected to hear. **_"... you still love him, don't you, Havoc...?"_**

Havoc flinched slightly as she heard this, turning her gaze off to the side. **_"Wh... what're you talking about...?"_**

"**_Havoc... don't lie to me... you do that way too much, you know that...?"_** She looked up to her elder sister, drying her tears as she forced a weak smile. **_"Every time we mention him, you get this look in your eyes... and you know I'm the best among any of us at reading eyes... You can tell me the truth, no one else is here..."_**

Havoc continued to stare off to the side a bit longer before shutting her eyes and resting her cheek against her little sister's forehead. **_"... yes... I... I do still love him, Mistral... do you think it's silly of your big sister...?"_**

"**_No... you were always really forgiving... despite the fact you're also pretty temperamental."_** She giggled slightly as she pulled back from her sister fully, sitting on her knees with her hands on her lap.

Havoc chuckled with her the Wind goddess, looking down at the floor with a smile.**_ "Yeah... my one fatal flaw, huh?"_** She sighed and turned to look back into the white sphere. **_"The kid's time's almost up. Think she'll make it...?"_**

Mistral nodded softly, focusing her attention upon the last couple moments of the trial. **_"I think so... she's young, but she's pretty smart. I think she may yet walk out of this..."_**

"**_I hope so, Mistral..."

* * *

_**

'_2 minutes left...'_, thought Radiance as she watched the final stages of Cream's transformation come into effect. So far, the child's entire body under her arms had turned green and taken on the texture of a flower's stem. Her arms were beginning to take on the change now, being forced to her sides as they joined into a single figure like the rest of her body above her knees and below her neck, while her feet had already become roots and planted firmly into the soil. What had amazed her was that the child had not been put into a state of panic yet. She had remained calm, and it seemed she was still doing her best to come up with the answer. _'She is a strong child, but I fear that will not be enough unless she finds her answer...'_

Cream gasped sharply as she felt her arms fully merge with her sides, leaving only a faint outline of where they were against her side. She looked herself over briefly before she returned to her thoughts. _'I don't have much time left... but what could the answer be? I can't figure it out, it doesn't make any sense to me...'_

"**_... Child..."_**

Cream's eyes lifted to the goddess as she was addressed, wondering just what it was that was so important she would draw her attention from what remained of her time to find an answer. "Huh...?"

Radiance sighed, laying a hand atop the Chao egg in her lap as she looked down into it. **_"Do not forget what is on the line. Remember what you are putting at risk by taking this trial. Also, do not forget the same thing is at risk for others if you manage to succeed in this trial..."_**

Cream simply stared for a few seconds, wondering exactly why the goddess had interjected to remind her of something like that. _'I know what's at stake... but... what does that have to do with... wait a minute... maybe...'_ She was broken from her thoughts as she felt an odd sensation on the sides of her face, the top of her head, and below her chin. She glanced to her sides, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of orange petals reaching out off her head. _'Oh no, I'm almost out of time...!_' She shut her eyes tightly, trying to shake off the sense of fear that had come over her at the realization that her time was almost up. _'I can't get scared, I need to think... Ms. Radiance must've had a reason for saying reminding me of what's at risk. Maybe... maybe that's the answer.'_ She glanced to her side again as she felt the texture of her face beginning to change into that of the petals on the sides of her head, which only motivated her further towards what she had come up with from Radiance's interjection. _'I guess it's now or never...'_ "M, Ms. Radiance, I have an answer!"

Radiance looked up to Cream, rising to her feet, cradling the Chao egg in her arms again. **_"Go ahead..."_**

Cream took a deep breath, making sure that she was calm as she looked to the goddess as seriously as she could, pushing back her fear so she could answer without hesitation. "The soul... the answer is the soul!"

Radiance stared at the child for a few seconds before a soft smile crossed her lips. She approached and stopped before her, lifting one hand and placing it on the child's forehead. A glow suddenly appeared on her hand that passed into the Rabbit girl, enveloping her and holding constant for a moment before vanishing, leaving the child in her original state. **_"Well done... you've passed the trial."

* * *

_**

At the edge of the Starlight Zone, Cream and Cheese stood across from Ailia and Radiance, the Rabbit girl currently clutching the Radiant Shield against her chest. "Thank you, Ms. Radiance. Thank you, Ailia."

Ailia smiled, her hands placed firmly on her hips as she looked down at the child. "Hey, you don't have to thank us, you earned it. You stood up for what you believed in, and came out the winner. You should be awfully proud of yourself, squirt." She leaned over and placed a hand on Cream's head, rubbing between her ears slightly, drawing a giggle out of the little girl.

"**_She is correct. You faced up to your fears and did what you felt was right in your heart. You have earned the right to claim the Radiant Shield."_** She sighed softly, turning to look towards the twilight over the horizon brought on by the coming morning. **_"I assume that you'll be taking that shield to Abaddon...?"_**

Cream nodded softly, looking down at the shield with a serious expression. "Yes... we need to go as quickly as possible so that we can get Mr. Shadow back from him..."

Radiance shut her eyes, her arms crossed. She remained like this for a moment before smiling softly and turning her gaze back to the little girl and her pet. **_"It would be a shame if you had to carry that shield all the way to Prison Island all by yourselves, especially considering that it's nearly as large as you, Cream. It would take quite a while, wouldn't you agree?"_**

Cream raised a curious expression up to the goddess as she posed this question, nodding softly as she adjusted her grip on the item of Light. "Yes, I suppose it would..."

Radiance knelt down to come to level with Cream, turning her open palm up towards the sky as a small ball of light rose from her hand. **_"Since time is of the essence in this case, what would you say if I were to give you a direct gate to Prison Island so that you may end this ordeal as quickly as possible?"_**

Cream's eyes seemed to light up as she heard this proposal. A smile immediately found it's way onto her lips as she tightened her grip on the shield. "You would really do that for us, Ms. Radiance?"

The Cat woman nodded as she rose to her feet, extending her arm out to her side as she turned her palm to face the ground, causing the ball that had been hovering just off of her hand to drop. The instant it touched the solid ground, it flashed and shot out, stretching into the shape of a gateway, with the image of Prison Island clearly visible within the center. **_"That is your destination, correct?"_**

Cream stared in awe at the gate, nodding softly as she took a couple steps toward it. She stared into it for a moment before turning to Ailia and Radiance, smiling softly as she set the shield down and bowed politely. "Thank you so much... I don't think we could ever repay you for your kindness."

Radiance shook her head softly in response to the child's words as she knelt down and lifted the shield, holding it up for her and allowing her to grasp it again. **_"Think nothing of it. I'm simply happy to do whatever I can to assist you. Now, go ahead. Retrieve your friend."_**

Cream nodded softly as she clutched the shield once again, looking up to Cheese with a smile. "Let's go, Cheese." She turned swiftly and made her way through the gate with her Chao behind her. As soon as she and her companion were fully through the gate, it shut, leaving no trace of its existence.

There was silence between the goddess and her pupil for just a moment after Cream had left, thoughts of the situation at hand circulating through both of their minds. Finally, the silence was broken.

"Hey, Radiance..."

The goddess of Light perked an eyebrow as her name was called by her pupil, turning her full attention to her. **_"Yes?"_**

The Wolf woman had her hands settled firmly on her hips as she turned to look at the horizon, watching the tip of the Sun appear over the horizon. "Why'd you go and tip that kid off? What made her different than all the others you've put through the trial before?"

Radiance stared at her student for a moment before a smile found its way across her lips. **_"She was doing something none of the others before her had done. Despite the conditions she was placed under, she confronted her fears in order to save the life of a friend. That, for me, was enough."_**

"Uh-huh. So you mean you've got a soft spot for kids?", she said, now looking to the goddess with a knowing grin.

Radiance chuckled, walking past her and opening a gate back to their realm. **_"Yes, I suppose that you could say that... Come now. We have many preparations to make."_** She paused before the gate, staring into it before nodding to herself. **_"If the worst should come to be realized... then we will be forced to end what began 350 years ago..."

* * *

_**

Author: #Puts down the operating tools# Alright, Sonic, Amy, yer back to normal.

Amy Rose: #Pounces and latches onto Sonic# YAY!

Sonic: HEY!!! #Falls off the operating table#

Author: Um... okay, I'll just ask. WHAT was the point of separating you two if you're just going to stick to him like a third arm?

Amy Rose: Well, there are certain 'things'-

Author: Oookay, stopping you right there. You like latching onto Sonic from the outside instead of being an actual limb, got it.

Shadow: So with that hurdle behind you, you've got a week to get the next chapter in on time.

Author: Hey, I told you, this kid is hard to write with.

Rouge: So do you think you'll be able to get the next chapter in by the end of the month?

Tails: WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!

Author: #Glances to Tails# What's up?

Tails: #Slams down a device with a speaker in it# I got a new invention I'd like to try out! It's the 'Author Translator'. Whatever he said is translated into terms we can understand! Just speak into the microphone, and the machine'll do the rest!

Author: ... do I not speak English?

Tails: It's more in reference to your time table for getting the chapters done...

Author: #Sighs# Alright, alright. #Clears throat and leans over into the microphone# To answer your question Rouge, yes, the chapter'll be done by the end of the month.

Translator: #Processes and plays back# 'No, I'll have it by June of next year.'

Author: ... Tails?

Tails: Hm?

Author: #Drops a Thwomp on he and the translator# SHOVE IT.

I'd like to thank Chris Zito for providing me with the riddle for this chapter. Without his help, I don't think that I would've been able to get this done as I'd hoped, despite how long it already took. So, thanks Chris!


	23. Darkness Over World, Part 1

**Distant Shadows Chapter 23 – Darkness over World, Part 1**

Megaman.EXE: Another song title, huh?

Author: Yup. Courtesy of Megaman Zero 3 this time.

Rouge: 'Another'?

Roll.EXE: He has this thing about using song titles for the last chapters, I think.

Author: What can I say? I appreciate good music.

Sonic: So... you chose a song from a Megaman game...?

Author: Hey, it was Guilty Gear in their fic.

Megaman.EXE and Roll.EXE: Yep.

Author: So, Abaddon, ready to raise a little Hell?

Abaddon: Definitely.

Author: Heroes, ready to do your things?

Distant Shadows cast: YEAH!

Author: 'Cept you, Amy, you're still dead.

Amy Rose: Jerk...

* * *

Sonic was jolted from a nap he had been taking as he felt the wagon he was riding in come down and slide upon what seemed like multiple rough, jagged objects. He waited for the shaking and sliding to come to a halt before he sat upright, taking a look around. It was already late into the evening of the seventh day, and it seemed that he had reached his destination. The familiar debris or Prison Island was bathed in the bright moonlight. He continued gazing around for a moment before turning his eyes back to the body of Amy Rose, his expression becoming considerably more serious. It was a constant reminder of exactly why the situation was now personal for him. Although he never voiced his feelings to her, he had loved Amy Rose just the same as she had loved him. To know that he could no longer have the chance to tell her, to make her happy, to be happy with her, and it tore a hole in his heart. He knelt down by her cold form, reaching out and placing a gloved hand atop her cheek, staring for a moment before he grabbed the Redwood Chest Plate and slipped it under one arm, while his other hand firmly grasped her Piko Piko Hammer. _'He'll pay...'_ He leapt out from the wagon and landed solidly on the ground, staring out at the horizon for a moment as he thought over just what he would do. It was then that he heard a familiar voice.

"SONIC!!!"

The blue Hedgehog turned his gaze in the direction he had heard his name called from, greeted by the sight of his six other friends. In an attempt to hide his grief, he put on his usual grin, walking slowly towards them as his oldest friend among the group, and the one who had called out to him, Tails, came to a halt before him.

"Sonic, I'm glad to see that you're okay! And you even got the item, great job!"

Sonic snickered softly, placing the chest plate on the ground flashing a thumbs-up to the two-tailed Fox. "Was there ever a doubt? I'm surprised you guys got here faster than me, though. Speed's supposed to be my deal."

Knuckles grinned, his arms folded firmly over his chest. "Yeah, well believe it or not, Cream and Cheese beat us all here."

Sonic took on a look of surprise as he heard this, looking to the little girl and her Chao. "Seriously? You two got back first?"

Cream giggled, nodding as she clasped her hands together below her waist. "Yes Mr. Sonic. We had help from Ms. Radiance, the goddess of Light who we got the Radiant Shield from."

The blue hero grinned, reaching over and gently placing his hand atop the child's head. "Well, good for you, Cream! Of course, I never had any doubt you'd come out of it just fine."

Rouge stepped forward, gazing inquisitively at Sonic as she took notice to the Piko Piko Hammer in his hand. "Sonic... where's Amy?"

Sonic froze as he heard this, remaining still for a moment before he stepped back, withdrawing his hand from Cream's head as he lowered his own slightly, tightening his grip on the weapon that belonged to the pink Hedgehog. "Amy... isn't going to be able to join us in this fight, you guys..."

Knuckles raised an eyebrow, lowering his arms to his sides as he stepped forward. "What's wrong? Is she sick or something?" This remark earned a swift elbow to the chest from Rouge, which caused him to stumble back slightly. He glared to the Bat girl furiously for a moment before taking note of the somber expression on her face, staring until the message she was trying to telegraph through her blow made itself known only a couple seconds later.

"... yeah, Knuckles... she's not feeling too well right now...", he muttered sadly. His only reason for playing along with that was for Cream's sake. He was sure that the last thing the little girl needed was the knowledge that one of her best friends was dead. He knelt down and grasped his piece of the armor, glancing over to the wagon he had arrived in before turning forward. "Come on... let's go and give Abaddon what's coming to him..."

* * *

Havoc sat alone just outside of the Mystic Cave Zone, gazing out over the neighboring Hill Top Zone, contemplating the situation at hand in silence. The eight items, all the pieces of the original Elemental Armor, had been collected, and were about to be re-united and donned upon her former lover Abaddon, who for the past 350 years had held an enormous portion of her soul, so enormous in fact, that there was a link between them. His eyes were her eyes, her ears were his ears, every sensation they experienced through their senses were shared. To make the situation even worse, the entire reason he was alive was because she was. His physical body was fed and sustained through her soul. He was neither god nor mortal anymore, simply a parasite consumed by its own power. The biggest problem though, was that she still loved that parasite. She couldn't say for sure if he still felt anything for her any more, but she knew her own feelings for him had never faded.

"**_It's already all come down to this..."_**, she murmured softly. The goddess sighed, hugging her knees up to her chest as she gazed up at the Moon, staring at it silently for a few moments before rising to her feet and dusting herself off. **_"No way around it now. Guess we gotta just hope for the best..."_**

"**_Hoping isn't enough to get the job done, Havoc..."_**

Havoc glanced over her shoulder at the sound of a familiar male voice, her eyes coming to lie upon an equally familiar figure, a sight which brought a rare look of surprise to her features. **_"M, Mortus... What're you doing here?"_**

The blue Phoenix anthro, Mortus, stood still, taking silent note of Havoc's surprised expression. Not that it was unexpected. It was an extremely rare occasion he broke from his work, even to converse with the other gods and goddesses. He was garbed in a pair of black silk Hakama pants, embroidered with silver and red flames from the base of the legs up to the knees. Three thin chains hung from around his neck, one of gold, one of silver, and the third of platinum. In place of hair, a series of long, blue, white and silver feathers cascaded from the top of his skull and down his back to his waist. His piercing white eyes continued to gaze upon the goddess he stood by, wearing a completely calm expression upon his face. **_"Surveying the situation, Havoc, and last I checked, you played quite a vital role in the situation."_**

Havoc smiled softly as she heard his words, turning to gaze back over the Hill Top Zone. **_"Well, that hasn't changed in 350 years, and it won't until this comes to an end..."_**

"**_I've been hearing word from the others that that very end is upon us. Is it true that the last 4 of the 8 items have been retrieved and are being taken to Abaddon at this very moment?"_**

Havoc paused for a moment as Mortus posed this question to her. It wasn't exactly easy to admit, no matter who the mortals that defeated them were, that they had all lost the items. It made it even more difficult to admit that they were going to Abaddon. After taking some time though, she simply chuckled and rose to her feet, placing her hands firmly upon her hips. **_"You heard correctly. Now we're just going to see how things work out..."_**

"**_Is the blue Hedgehog acting off of the death of the girl?"_**

Havoc nodded softly. **_"Yeah, he's definitely running off of it... he whipped Orchard hands down in a fight, but didn't do anything lethal in terms of mortal standards. Seems like he's saving that for Abaddon."_**

The Phoenix raised an eyebrow as he heard Havoc speak of Sonic actually beating the Hawk in a fight. After taking a moment to envision this, he spoke again. **_"So he didn't participate in Orchard's trial then?"_**

"**_Nope. I think Orchard was fine with being beaten once. Besides, he taught my baby brother a life lesson that he never picked up on, so I guess he was a bit grateful for that."_** She smirked softly after saying this, looking over her shoulder to the god of Life and Death. **_"I'm surprised you didn't at least keep up on that when you broke up our fight after his pet killed the girl."_**

"**_There are billions of people on this planet, Havoc, billions who are born and who die every day. To put it mildly, I'm very busy. Even now, I have my protégé standing in for me, but he can't keep this up for too long. I merely came because this is a threat to us all, and it was worth the time."_** There was a silence between them for a moment after he had spoken these words, lasting only for that moment as the god of Life and Death finally spoke again. **_"... do you still resent me for my actions back then?"_**

There was then another uncomfortable silence between the two for a few long moments as Mortus awaited a response, while Havoc attempted to formulate one. In the end, the god of Life and Death merely turned began to walk away, believing he would not receive the answer he had hoped for.

"**_... Dad..."_**

The Phoenix came to an immediate halt, continuing to face away, although turning his full attention to the goddess.

Havoc shut her eyes and lowered her head, allowing her hands to fall from her hips and dangle at her sides. **_"... I'm not mad at you... if that's what you wanted to hear... but when he first tried to take my soul... when you never even addressed the issue until 3 years after when I finally brought it up to your face... that still hurts, even today. That you wouldn't even look to see about the well-being of your own daughter... You never even gave me a reason why, you just-"_** Her eyes snapped open and her words came to an abrupt halt as she felt a familiar pair of strong arms drape over her shoulders and hold her back against an even more familiar body. She looked up, seeing Mortus, her father's, still neutral expression gazing out over the landscape in silence. **_"Dad..."_**

"**_... Havoc... I never approached you about it because I know he was your first love. The only love in the entirety of existence I have ever had was for my own children, never with a spouse of any kind. I took your souls and gave them bodies within the elements, and from the elements, you were conceived. I have never had an experience with a significant other, so what would I have been able to tell you?"_**

Havoc was totally silent, left without words to respond with for what seemed like ages. Finally, she shut her eyes again and turned within his arms, leaning forward and wrapping her own about torso as she let her forehead rest upon his chest. **_"... Dad... I would've just been happy knowing you were there for me... The others fed me all of the advice I could handle... back then, I just needed you to be there..."_** After another moment, she simply shook her head and stepped back out of his embrace, wearing a sad smile upon her features. **_"... well... I don't know how much time I've got left now... if things don't work out, I imagine this'll probably be the last time we ever see each other. You won't get to collect my soul from him, after all..."_** She turned her back to him again, turning her eyes to the stars in the sky, balling her hands up into loose fists. **_"... I've got something that I need to take care of before everything goes to Hell with this, so, I should probably get going..."_**

"**_Havoc..."_**

The goddess of Darkness turned her gaze over her shoulder, staring at the god of Life and Death with a cocked eyebrow. **_"Hm...?"_**

"**_... Be careful. Once Abaddon gets the armor, the fight will be taken into an entirely new level. Do not be reckless, and think your moves through before you make them... I don't want to lose my first born to that fool."_**

Havoc continued to stare for a moment longer before looking forward again. Although sadness remained, there was a sense of happiness, also accompanied by the feeling that a small amount of weight had been lifted from her shoulders. _'That was all I ever wanted to hear... Now I can carry out my plan without hesitation...'_ **_"Yeah... you got it. I'll watch my back..."_** With that, the shadows beneath her feet leapt up and surrounded her, quickly pulling her down, taking her from the Hill Top Zone to her next destination.

Mortus could only stand silently after she left, staring solemnly at the spot she had been standing in just seconds before. After a few moments of contemplation, he turned, his eyes shut as a white and black glow surrounded him. _'I have preparations to make as well... I only hope that what I contribute will be enough.'

* * *

_

Abaddon sighed softly, setting down a pair of thick metal gloves upon a table of tools beside the much larger table Shadow the Hedgehog was strapped to. "Hn, what a pity. Your friends have already arrived with the final four items, and I haven't had the chance to finish studying you..."

Shadow coughed violently, a look of great pain upon etched upon his face as he glared to Abaddon out the corner of his eyes. "So... does this mean you're actually going to keep your word and let me go...?"

The silver Hedgehog could only snicker as Shadow voiced his question, turning to walk away, wearing a malicious grin. "Now, Shadow, we've been acquainted long enough for you to know the answer to that question without having to ask, don't you think...?" Abaddon then exited the room, continuing to wear the same grin as before. _'They've progressed far faster than I would have assumed. I had believed that by the time they had finished, I'd have full access to Chaos Control. Well, no matter. I'll have the entire Elemental Armor complete and assembled once I receive the final four items, and unless those foolish Gods discard their ridiculous law that forbids them from intervening in the doings of mortals, then the deck will be stacked in my favor.'

* * *

_

"So he's going for it all, huh...?", questioned Rouge, gazing to Knuckles inquisitively as he finished explaining what Igneous had told him just earlier that same day.

Knuckles nodded, resting upon the remains of a mangled steel wall with a rather grim expression. "Without a doubt. If he gets Chaos Control, the completed Elemental Armor and Havoc's powers, then he'll be virtually unstoppable. The only bright side to this is that unless he's already gotten his hands on Chaos Control, then Shadow's probably in no immediate danger. Still, we can't take the fact that he's aiming to become a god among gods lightly..."

"So he's basically just a way faster Eggman. Nothing I can't handle.", boasted Sonic as he leaned his back against one of the few still-standing walls that belonged to the prison which the island derived it's name from.

"Don't underestimate him, Sonic.", stated Rouge as she looked to the blue hero. "It's not just speed. Even though it's limited, he has control over the Darkness, remember that."

"Don't forget those claws...", muttered Knuckles as he placed a hand on his chest where Abaddon had slashed him open just over a week ago.

"And the other four pieces of the armor.", interjected Tails with a rather serious expression, his eyes locked upon the Typhoon Bracelets that Mistral had given him. "The Flame Pendant, the Sea Greaves, the Steel Saber, and the Shadow Cape... if we have to fight, it's going to be tough..."

Sonic smirked, tapping the Redwood Chest Plate with his heel as he looked to his twin-tailed friend. "Yeah, but we've got four items too, and one of the Chaos Emeralds. I may not be as well practiced with it as Shadow, but I can still use that Emerald to use Chaos Control. That should help even out the odds."

"Even with the four items, the odds of victory are not in our favor.", bluntly stated Omega. "With all factors and probabilities taken into consideration, there remains a 68.543 percent chance that we will be eliminated."

"Jeez...", groaned Knuckles as he crossed his arms and shut his eyes. "It's not looking good..."

Rouge turned a sympathetic gaze to Cream and Cheese, who looked to be rather shaken by all the talks about Abaddon. She reached over to the Rabbit girl and gently put a hand upon her shoulder, drawing the little girl's attention. "Cream, if you're scared, you don't have to come with us. You've done more than enough to help, we can take it from here..."

Cream shook her head immediately after Rouge finished speaking, looking to her with renewed determination. "I, it's alright Ms. Rouge. Cheese and I are fine. We fought with you against the Metal Overlord after all, we can help with this too. Right Cheese?"

Cheese nodded its head vigorously, pumping its arms energetically in the air in an attempt to show it was totally prepared. "Chao chao chao!"

Rouge sighed softly, unable to help but smile as she gave the girl a gentle pat before withdrawing her hand. "Well, if last time was any indication, I know I can't get you two to stop now that your minds are made up, can I...?"

Sonic sighed, looking over the group with a very serious expression, crossing his arms tighter than they already were. "Well, this is gonna be it, you guys. Last chance for any of you to bail. Don't forget, the armor absorbs souls, so if we die here, then you know what'll probably happen..."

Knuckles sneered, rising to his feet with one fist pulled up by his face. "Don't insult us, Sonic. Have you ever known us to back down from something like this?"

Tails smirked and stood as well, holding the Gale Helmet under one arm. "Even if it's our souls, if we just let Abaddon go, he'd get us anyways. It'd be best to try and take him out while we actually stand a chance, right?"

Rouge placed her hands on her hips as she rose to her feet with the others, wearing a confident grin. "I'm the one who got everyone involved in this, so don't think for a second that I'm going to back down."

Omega swiftly brought its metallic fists together with a loud 'clang', gazing directly at the blue Hedgehog. "Our mission is to defeat Abaddon and retrieve Shadow, retreat is not an option."

Cream took a step forward, nodding in agreement with Omega's statement. "We won't leave without him, right Cheese?"

Cheese nodded again, thrusting one arm up into the air with a very confident look upon it's face. "Chao!"

"Hmhmhm, how touching. You idiots all cheering like you'd have a chance..."

All eyes turned to a nearby body of water where the eighth voice had come from, locking upon Abaddon, standing still atop it with the aide of the softly glowing Sea Greaves. About his neck hung the Flame Pendant. At his side in a newly fashioned black leather sheathe hanging off of a belt of the same make and color, the Steel Saber, and hanging off his back, the Shadow Cape.

"Hmph, you came out pretty well prepared", stated Sonic as he crouched down and grasped the Redwood Chest Plate with one hand as his other found the Piko Piko Hammer that had been leaning next to him against the wall.

"Yes, Sonic the Hedgehog, yes I did. And I see that you're short one member of your team. Tell me, what happened to that charming little pink Hedgehog, the pest whose hammer you're holding right now? I hope it was nothing too awful...", he stated in a very mocking tone, sneering as he walked forward onto dry land, his hands clutched together behind his back.

Sonic growled, tightening his grip on the objects in both his hands as Abaddon spoke, stepping forward to meet with Abaddon's pace. "You son of a..."

"SONIC!", hollered Rouge, drawing the blue Hedgehog's eyes to an extremely serious expression. "Keep your head on, you idiot..." She turned a relatively irate gaze to the silver Hedgehog, kneeling down and lifting the Radiant Shield up under one arm. "Where's Shadow...?"

"Oh, you mean my specimen? He's down below. Far, far down below. I might let you see him if you give me the items without a fight..."

"We didn't come here just to see him. Our deal was that we bring you the items and we leave with Shadow."

Abaddon chuckled softly, raising one hand forward and holding his hand out to his side as he came to a halt. "I'm afraid there's been a change of plans. You see, I'm not done with him yet, and I have this particularly bad habit of not releasing my specimens until I've finished with them. You'll just have to settle for a little visiting time until I'm done..."

Rouge's eyes narrowed as she stepped forward, passing by Sonic and coming to a halt little more than 10 yards from the silver Hedgehog. "Bring him up here, now."

"Or what? Do you intend to walk away with the items and leave your friend to his death?"

Rouge's glare only intensified as she heard this. She took the shield by one of its sides and slipped her arm through the two leather-covered chain straps on the back, grasping a metallic bar to stabilize it in her grip.

Abaddon raised an eyebrow as he saw this, watching as the others mimicked Rouge in their actions of donning each individual piece of armor. For Sonic, the Redwood Chest Plate, for Knuckles, the Gaia Gauntlets, and for Tails, the Gale Helmet.

Sonic's eyes widened as the chest plate took on an unexpected, brilliant green glow. "H-huh? What the...?" Before he could finish his sentence, the armor had changed, having shrunk to fit his body type and grown out extensions on the back to better fit his spines. He glanced over to Tails, watching as the Gale Helmet did the same to allow a comfortable fit for Tails' head and ears. His gaze then shifted to Knuckles, watching as the Gaia Gauntlets extended out over his knuckles and fit perfectly to them, right down to the points in the spikes. "How...?"

"Please...", scoffed the silver Hedgehog as he looked among the dumbstruck heroes. "You mean to tell me that you fools intend to fight me? Even more foolhardy is the fact that you intend to fight me with equipment that you know NOTHING about! I'm willing to be generous today because I'm in a good mood about getting the items. Take them off and give them to me, and I'll let you walk away with your lives. Of course, if you still insist on fighting, then I have no qualms washing the bloodstains off of them after I take these claws of mine and rip you to shreds..."

Knuckles slammed his fists together, causing the earth all around the island to rumble slightly as the Gaia Gauntlets took on a soft brown glow. "You got us the first time because we weren't expecting it. We aren't going to fall for the same lousy trick twice."

Abaddon smirked, amused at the Echidna's boast. "You're quite confident, I'll give you that much..." He reached to his waist and unhooked the clasp on his belt, allowing it to drop with the Steel Saber to the ground. It was soon followed by the Flame Pendant, the Shadow Cape, and the Sea Greaves. "Very well then... let's play a little game... I'll let you use the items that you have now, and whatever else you have to your disposal. You try and kill me, and if you succeed, then you can have your precious black Hedgehog back. In fact, if you can get to the items that I just dropped, I'll even let you use them."

Rouge's eyes focused upon the items on the ground briefly as she tightened her grip on the shield. "You're confident..."

The silver Hedgehog clasped his hands together behind his back. "Why shouldn't I be? Three of you were taken down instantaneously last time, with one strike no less. If this is going to be interesting at all, I'll even have to handicap my natural powers."

"The powers you stole from Havoc.", bit back Rouge as the Radiant Shield took on a soft glow.

"The powers she GAVE to me. She was the fool who gave me the ability to absorb Darkness, I simply turned it to my personal advantage. She has no one to blame but herself for leaving me such a window of opportunity."

"You abused her love for you and the gift she gave you to save your miserable life and tried to take hers!", growled Sonic as he tightened his grip on the Piko Piko Hammer that once belonged to Amy Rose, a soft green glow appearing around the Redwood Chest Plate.

"Only a fool would not use such a thing to its full potential, which is why YOU are weak!", shot back Abaddon with increasing frustration at the tirade the heroes were beginning.

"You're the fool! You threw away her love for you because you're power hungry! You're nothing great, you're just another maniac with a god complex!", fired Tails as the Gale Helmet took on a soft grey glow.

"ENOUGH!", roared Abaddon, his eyes glowing blood red as he lifted off the ground, suspended by the power of Darkness surging up from the ground through his shadow. He remained like this for only a few seconds before gritting his teeth and lowering himself to the ground, shutting his eyes and pressing one hand to his forehead, as if in some pain. After a moment and a couple of deep breaths, he gazed to the heroes, wearing the same smirk as before. "It would be a shame if I were to lose my temper... I'd hate to end this game before it even began." He lifted one hand and waved it towards himself in a beckoning motion, his smirk becoming an even more twisted grin. "Now... let's begin..."

Sonic was the first one to strike, lashing out in full force as he charged, cutting a trench through the rubble as he approached Abaddon. He leapt forward as soon as he was in range and swung upon Abaddon with the Piko Piko Hammer. Before it even connected with him, Abaddon dropped down into the ground, vanishing into his shadow where the weapon soon collided into the ground, cratering it slightly from the impact. "What the...?!"

"Sonic, behind you!", warned Rouge.

The blue Hedgehog spun quickly on his heel, coming face to face with Abaddon and taking immediate notice of the claw he had just thrust at him. Sonic dropped onto his back on the ground, barely dodging the thrust. He then rolled onto his side and swung his body around, connecting firmly with Abaddon's legs and dropping him. He took this chance and leapt only slightly off the ground, just enough to rise over Abaddon and come down with a solid punch. Again, he missed as Abaddon dove into his shadow and vanished.

Sonic paused as he heard his opponent laugh, turning his head to his side where Abaddon stood confidently upon a lone steel pole. "You buffoon! What hope can you possibly have of defeating me with those mediocre skills?! It's no small wonder that you couldn't save that pink Hedgehog before, you're weak!"

This set Sonic off. He immediately began to quake with rage as he dug his feet into the ground and tightened his grip upon the hammer in his hand. "You miserable bastard...!"

Abaddon took on a look of great satisfaction at the other Hedgehog's rage, leaping from the rod and landing upon the rubble-covered ground below. "Of course, not that she was any better. Losing her life to that pathetic specimen of a dragon, it's laughable. Such a stupid girl, sacrificing herself just to save you..."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!", thundered Sonic, virtually seeing red now. The Redwood Chest Plate seemed to correspond to his feelings, beginning to surge violently with green light. Out of no where, dozens of razor sharp wooden spikes rose from the ground behind him and fired at his opponent simultaneously.

Abaddon looked confidently at the spears as they approached, balling his clawed hands up into fists. As soon as they were upon him, he began leaping backwards, flipping and dodging spear after spear as they came down. Their strikes became faster and faster in almost no time, leaving Abaddon fewer and fewer gaps between each spear, until he finally had to resort to his shadow diving to escape, appearing behind Sonic in a space between he and the spears he was attacking with, his clawed hand cocked back and ready to tear the blue hero's head clean off his shoulders. Before he could strike, he felt something collide with him, something that sent pain surging through every nerve in his body before he flew off to the side and skidded to a halt on the ground, growling venomously as he immediately sat up and looked to where the impact had come from. "You...!"

Rouge stood shakily, her eyes wide at what had just happened. Out of no where, through her desire to stop Abaddon from killing Sonic, a beam of Light had shot from the center of the shield and smashed into Abaddon, and by the looks of it, it had taken the wind right out of him. It took her a moment to gather her bearings, still in shock of the power that had fired from the item in her grip. _'Unbelievable...'_

"ROUGE, HEADS UP!", hollered Sonic.

The Bat girl's head rose to see Abaddon literally flying at her, leaving a trail of shadows behind him as he drew back, his hand engulfed in Darkness. "You die first!", he stated as he came upon her and began swinging wildly at her, laughing maniacally with each strike.

Each strike he delivered was dealt directly onto the shield though, as Rouge used it for its obvious purpose, to protect. It was holding up unbelievably well against the barrage of attacks, giving no signs of wear at all. The same could not be said for it's wielder, though, as Rouge was driven back further and further with each strike. _'I don't know if I can keep this thing up much longer...!'_ She shut her eyes tightly as Abaddon came in for another strike, but instead of hearing the clang of his claws against the shield, heard a rumbling and a crash. Her eyes snapped open to see Knuckles, his arms covered in rocks, colliding with Abaddon fist first and sending him flying dozens of feet to the side.

Abaddon recovered in mid-air from the strike, growling in frustration. _'This is getting tiring...!'_ Abaddon came to an immediate halt where he was, hovering over the ground, glaring at the heroes with deadly intent. His eyes shifted to the three members who had no pieces of the armor donned, a twisted smirk coming over his lips as he drew his hands back, covered in dark energy. "NIGHT CUTTER!", he cried out, thrusting his hands forward and sending twin blades of darkness towards the uninvolved trio. Just as they appeared to reach their destination, a blur shot across his view, over the three unguarded heroes, and vanished with them, leaving the blades to cleave through all that was behind them until they ran out of energy at on the other side of the island. His eyes immediately shifted in the direction the blur had gone, coming to rest upon Tails and his three companions, each supported by small tornadoes just off the ground.

"Are you guys alright?", the twin-tailed Fox asked with obvious concern, looking between them to check for himself.

"Affirmative.", mechanically responded Omega as the tornado beneath it vanished and let it drop to the ground just a couple feet below.

Cream nodded softly, cradling her Chao in her arms. "Y, yes. Thank you, Tails."

Tails glanced over his shoulder to Abaddon, glaring at the silver Hedgehog before looking to Omega. "Omega, give me the Chaos Emerald and I'll give it to Sonic. Meanwhile, I want you guys to find an entrance into the underground. There should still be levels of the original prison intact down there, and that's gotta be where Shadow's being held. Find him and free him, alright? You'll be safer down there than up here anyways."

"Mission objective confirmed. Locate entrance into sub-levels of Prison Island and rescue Shadow the Hedgehog. We will not fail.", Omega stated as it's chest cavity opened, revealing the Chaos Emerald to Tails.

"You can count on us, Tails. You and the others please be careful fighting Abaddon.", Cream said with a serious expression.

Tails nodded as he took the Chaos Emerald from Omega. "Alright, get going, we'll take care of things here!" The two-tailed Fox spun around and sped off as quickly as the power of the helmet would carry him with those words, leaving Cream and Omega to their own task of retrieving Shadow from the underground. He wasted no time, heading directly for Sonic, clutching the Chaos Emerald firmly in his grasp.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?!"

Tails' eyes widened as he turned to look over his shoulder, seeing Abaddon flying directly over him. Before he could react, one of Abaddon's hands came down flat upon his back, slamming him into the ground with great force, using their combined momentum to dig a ditch with the young genius' body. It seemed like forever before he finally came to a stop, groaning in a great deal of pain as he clutched his head with his free hand.

"Hmph, insolent fool.", muttered Abaddon as he knelt down, reaching for the Chaos Emerald in the Fox's grasp. Before he could take it into his grasp, he felt a strong wind stir up beneath him, and before he knew what had happened, he was flung off in the opposite direction.

Tails smirked slightly as he pushed himself up to one knee, his free hand favoring his now bloodied chest. He glanced down at his wrists, looking at the Typhoon Bracelets that Mistral had gifted him with as a silvery glow about them began to fade. "I'm gonna have to thank her for these later..." He turned his attention to his side as he saw Abaddon coming back even faster than before, weaving around blasts of light, pillars of earth, and spear-like roots that were being thrown in his path, looking with full intent to kill the Fox boy. Without wasting another second, he turned to Sonic and drew his arm back, then threw it forward, and the Chaos Emerald with it. "SONIC, CATCH!"

Sonic turned his head sharply towards the twin-tailed Fox as he called his name, immediately catching sight of the Chaos Emerald that was coming at him. He immediately dashed forward, coming upon the gem in but a couple seconds and grasping it firmly in his free hand. With that in his grasp, it didn't take him long to make his first move. "CHAOS CONTROL!", he cried out, and in a flash, he was gone.

Before Abaddon could even begin to look for the blue Hedgehog, he felt a heavy blow delivered to the back of his skull, driving him face down into the ground. He glanced over his shoulder, seeing only a flash before he felt another collision with his side, lifting him up high into the air. Again, another collision, sending him flying. In mid-flight he caught sight of Sonic the Hedgehog, holding the Piko Piko Hammer in a manner one would hold a baseball bat after swinging it. He found himself more perplexed than infuriated after a second, taking note of his opponent pointing his down towards the ground. Abaddon turned his gaze swiftly, his eyes widening at the sight of a beam of light as large as he was coming right at him. Before he could react, it slammed into him, drawing a pained cry from him as he was launched further into the sky than before, followed immediately by a drop, hundreds of feet towards the ground below, but instead of his body hitting the ground, the ground hit him. Two pillars of earth shot up, one below him, and one off to his side. The one off to his side curved and shot down towards him, meeting with his body at the exact same time as the one below, both of them slamming shut on the Silver hedgehog and crumbling, burying him under hundreds of pounds of dirt and rock.

By this point, Tails had equipped two of the other four items that Abaddon had left open for their use, the Sea Greaves and the Flame Pendant. "Now for the finishing touch!", he stated with great confidence as he willed forth a geyser and a tower of flames. The flames struck first, driving themselves into the earthen pile and heating it to immeasurable temperatures, so much that the top layers of rock began to liquefy. Following in suit was the geyser, curving and slamming into it, immediately cooling the rock and soil until it solidified into one mass, one mass that contained Abaddon within. The twin-tailed Fox smirked with great satisfaction as he looked upon the end result of the combined efforts of he, Sonic, Rouge and Knuckles. "Looks like we got him."

"Stupid child, you should know far better than to judge by looks alone..."

Before Tails could even turn his head, he felt a sharp pain in his mid-back, piercing into his flesh. He paused for a moment, his eyes wide with pain as he felt something warm running down his back and legs towards the ground. He turned his head to see Abaddon, sneering in his face as he lifted the Fox up into the air, revealing the predicament that he was in. The silver Hedgehog's claws were thrust into his back, missing his spine, but leaving five well-sized wounds that a fair deal of his blood was escaping out of. "H... How...?!"

"You idiot, did you already forget about my ability to dive into Darkness? You had me with those blasts of light from the shield, and that Chaos Control was definitely no help, but the moment my shadow projected onto that pillar your Echidna friend sent at me, I merely had to dive into it..."

Sonic growled as he tightened his grip on both the Chaos Emerald and the Piko Piko Hammer, holding the Emerald out at arm's length. "CHAOS..."

"AND if any of you fools attempt to strike me while I'm holding him, I'll tear out his spine!", Abaddon added in at the last minute, taking special note of the look on the blue Hedgehog's face as the news was conveyed. He snickered softly, watching as he lowered his arm and simply glared at him.

"You're a coward...", stated Sonic, not taking his eyes off the silver Hedgehog for an instant.

"I'm smart, that's what I am. You fools are so tied into one another that you can't let go, even when there's something so much more important on the line. It's really humorous, actually...", he stated in a very smug tone, slowly closing his fingers while they remained within the young Fox's body, drawing agonizing cries from him.

"CUT IT OUT!", thundered Sonic as he stepped forward, drawing the Piko Piko Hammer back.

"Or what?! You're going to further jeopardize the life of your friend here? I highly doubt that. You lack the backbone. As long as I have your friend in my clutches, you'll bend to my will, just the same way that pathetic Bat girl there bent when she learned I had Shadow in my possession. This time, though, I WILL kill my hostage. I have nothing to gain but the items he's wearing right now. Speaking of which, I've grown tired of our little game. So drop the items, or I rip him apart, piece by piece." All the while as he spoke, the same sinister smirk remained curled upon his lips. He had full confidence now that the game was won. Just as the heroes began removing their items, seeing it as their only option to save their friend, a voice shot through the air, one that they would have never expected to hear.

"LET HIM GO, YOU CREEP!"

Abaddon turned his head swiftly in the direction of the voice, only to lock eyes with the sole of a boot that immediately connected with his face, forcing him to throw Tails forward, free of his clutches, and taking him down to the ground. An added pressure came as another boot slammed down on his skull before the owner of the footwear leapt off and spun around, landing and facing the silver Hedgehog.

"N... No way...!", stuttered Sonic as he stared wide-eyed as he stared at a familiar female figure. "Amy...?! You're... you're alive?!"

The pink Hedgehog, Amy Rose, smiled softly, turning her eyes to the blue Hedgehog. "Did ya miss me?"

* * *

Author: Another chapter out of the way.

Rouge: Took you long enough.

Author: Are you ever going to get tired of saying that?

Rouge: Only when you get tired of pushing these things off...

Shadow: That's a 'Never'.

Author: Shouldn't you be in chains somewhere...?

Sonic: So, Amy's back then?

Author: Seems like it.

Amy Rose: And you know what that means, right Sonic? #Rubs up against him with a giggle#

Author: Keeeeep it PG-13, love birds...

Amy Rose: You're no fun...

Author: Look, you wanna do the horizontal bump, take it to Adult Otherwise, I ain't interested in authorin' that.

Amy Rose: #Ties Sonic up and drags him away# Let's go then!

Sonic: WHY DO YOU TELL HER THESE THINGS?!

Author: Because your pain is my joy... #Grins and kills the lights#


	24. Darkness Over World, Part 2

**Distant Shadows Chapter 24 – Darkness over World, Part 2**

Author: BEFORE ANYONE SAYS ANYTHING, LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF!

Rouge: What the Hell is there to explain?! You left EVERYONE sitting with a six month cliff-hanger!

Author: And I feel like crap about it! I'm just...

Rouge: Stupid?

Sonic: Thick as a brick?

Tails: Irresponsible?

Amy: Negligent?

Shadow: Not up to par as an author?

Abaddon: A waste of space?

Author: Hey, Abaddon, no quips from the fan characters. But, yeah, pretty much all of the above save for that last one. Fact is, well, I HAVE been negligent, stupid, and generally TOTALLY irresponsible about all of this, and I can't begin to apologize enough for that. I don't know if that means much since I've probably apologized all of the past 23 chapters on delays, but, no more promises on deadlines that I can't keep or aren't willing to keep. I WILL, though, try to finish this before I post more of anything else! And, you know, before the school year starts...

Rouge: Oh, right, you posted that other fic...

Author: Zip. It. In any case, if there's one thing that's come up, the time I've had off HASN'T been in vain. At least this time I should hope that I can write a better set of chapters than the rest of this atrocity.

Rouge: When it's gotten this many reviews?

Author: I cringe when I read back on a lot of my old work. I can't even look at anything before chapter 25 on The Pain of Loss...

Megaman.EXE Cast: HEY!

Author: ENOUGH CAMEOS AND OUT OF CHARACTER BS, YOU CAME HERE TO READ A FIC, YOU'LL GET A FIC.

* * *

"Amy, how... how are you... I thought that you had been..." 

The pink Hedgehog, currently supporting Tails and walking towards the rest of their group, could only smile as she watched Sonic fumble with his words. "I was, but Mortus brought me back."

"Mortus?" Sonic questioned, obviously perplexed by the identity of who was responsible for this.

"_**That would be me, Hedgehog."**_ said the voice of the Phoenix man as he appeared behind the group, his expression ever-solemn, even as the eyes of all who were present turned to him. _**"I am the God of Life and Death. I believed that you may be able to use the assistance, considering the identity of your opponent."**_

"Bastard..." Abaddon growled, clutching his head as he donned a furious grin, looking upon Mortus with spite. "I thought you were only able to escort souls in and out of the mortal plane..."

"_**Selective disinformation, Abaddon. There are things that I have strictly forbidden my children or my protégés from ever revealing about my own powers. What they do with their own is their business, but there have been few times that I have ever allowed anyone but my offspring to know of my power to restore life."**_

"I'm guessing you still can't kill him though, right?" Rouge questioned, turning the Radiant Shield back at Abaddon and her locking her eyes upon him.

"_**I'm afraid not."**_ Mortus replied softly._** "That much was true, my daughter's soul would have been obliterated with his if I were to act at the level required."**_

The silver Hedgehog sneered as he heard this, rising to his feet and rolling his head around once, beckoning a sickening snap from his neck. "Then I assume your business is done here. Unless you plan on bringing them back to die another death after I rip their spines out."

Mortus sighed, folding his arms over his chest. _**"You are correct Abaddon, I am done here."**_ he stated bluntly, drawing looks of surprise from the heroes.

"What're you saying?" Knuckles questioned, his eyes narrowed seriously. "I mean, you brought Amy back to help us, so you could bring us back too if something happens, right?"

"_**It would be a waste of time."**_ The blue Phoenix replied. _**"When I brought Amy Rose back, I made her no more or less powerful than she was when she was killed. If Abaddon were to kill you, I would be simply wasting energy and time restoring your lives. It's just as he said, I would merely be bringing you back to die again."**_

"But..." Tails began, obviously unsure about the decision of the god of Life and Death.

"Forget it Tails." Sonic said, looking to the young Fox with a grin. "He's already done a lot by bringing Amy back to us. We can handle the rest from here."

Tails looked to his oldest friend, staring for a second before nodding, his confidence renewed. "Right."

Sonic nodded back to Tails before looking to the Phoenix, his expression shifting to a soft smile. "Thanks for bringing her back."

"_**If you really want to thank me,"**_ the god began. _**"defeat Abaddon and bring an end to this once and for all."**_

"As thrilling a conversation as this is," Abaddon stated, rolling his left shoulder with a calm expression upon his face as it popped the same way as his neck. "Maybe it's time you left us to our business, Mortus. There will be no souls here for you to collect when all is said and done."

Mortus smirked as he heard this, turning his back to Abaddon and the heroes. _**"Very well. I have done my part to contribute to your defeat. The rest lies in their hands."**_ Mortus glanced over his shoulder down to the five, gazing briefly at them before he began to walk away. _**"I'm placing my faith in your group. Do not disappoint me."**_ Without another word, he simply faded out, leaving the heroes and Abaddon alone once again.

* * *

"_**No way..."**_ Mistral said, obviously stunned by what she had just seen. _**"Dad just... just..."**_

"_**Brought that girl back to life."**_ Pyro said rather frankly, obviously a bit less surprised than his younger sister, but still taken aback. _**"When the Hell did he start getting involved with stuff like this?"**_

"_**I'm not entirely sure myself."**_ Radiance responded, her arms crossed. _**"But I certainly will not complain. This is truly going to act in their favor."**_

"_**Perhaps not."**_ Tsunami said, drawing the attention of the other 6 present. _**"Abaddon is powerful, far more powerful than they are. He's only been toying with them up 'til now."**_

"_**Who's to say that he won't keep messing with them?"**_ Orchard questioned, wearing a grin. _**"Come on, he's a cocky bastard, he may just give them the chance that they need to take him out in one good shot!"**_ Almost immediately after, he felt a swift blow connect to the back of his head, causing him to crouch and clutch the back of his head. _**"OW, DAMN, WHAT'D I DO?!"**_

"_**You were being stupid again."**_ Tsunami said, holding up a small hammer made of ice. _**"You know better than to say things like that. Abaddon has limited access to Havoc's powers, sure, but no mortal before has ever stood a chance against him. The fact that they've come this far is remarkable, I will give them that, but this fight is not over."**_

"_**Sorry to say, Orchard," **_Igneous said with a smile, offering a hand to his little brother and helping him to his feet. _**"but Tsunami's correct. Abaddon is no god, but he hasn't been a mortal for a few centuries, either. He's powerful, and it's very possible that if he gets serious, he could wipe them out."**_

"_**But, what about the items?"**_ Mistral asked hopefully. _**"I mean come on; they've been handling them pretty well so far for a pack of novices who didn't even know that they were automatically fitting."**_

"_**Yes, but they're still handling them at an amateur level."**_ Forge said, a solemn expression upon his face. _**"They haven't come close to tapping their true potential. The closest so far has been that blue Hedgehog, and that was simply when he was throwing a fit. Unless something happens to show them what the real power of the armor is together, then odds don't look good."**_

"_**And if he wins,"**_ Tsunami said softly, evaporating the hammer she had formed just a moment earlier. _**"then we will be forced to act and destroy him... and Havoc's soul with it."**_

"_**Then let's pray that it does not come down to that."**_ Radiance said solemnly, watching as the heroes began to stir back on Prison Island.

* * *

"Amy, take this." Tails said, removing the Flame Pendant and handing it to her. "It'll help you against Abaddon." 

"Thanks Tails." the pink Hedgehog replied with a smile, slipping the pendant's leather string over her head. She sighed softly, feeling a warmth run through her as the item she donned took on a soft red glow that faded as quickly as it appeared. She blinked, feeling a tap on her shoulder that drew her attention to Sonic, who was wearing perhaps the softest smile she'd ever seen. Even more to her surprise, it was directed towards her.

"Here, Amy." he said, raising her Piko Piko Hammer up to eye level. "This thing's actually pretty useful. It's Hell on the arms though. It's no wonder you're as strong as you are, swinging this thing around all the time."

The pink Hedgehog stared for just a second, taking note of the grin he'd donned after saying that about her hammer. _'Was he just complimenting me?' _She finally nodded, taking the hammer into her grasp and shouldering it with a smile. "Thanks, Sonic."

"Look, Amy..." Sonic began, a look of hesitation and concern on his face. "I want you to be careful out there, alright...?"

The pink Hedgehog blinked in confusion, staring at him for a second before looking to Abaddon. "Sonic, you know that I'll be okay."

"No, Amy, I don't... I..." He sighed, cupping a hand to his forehead. He wasn't good at talking to her like this. Most the time he was being a smart ass or he ran away from her, he couldn't remember the last time he actually had a serious conversation with her that he started. He just didn't know how to go about it. He had just gotten her back, and hadn't gotten the chance to begin telling her how he felt, and they were in the midst of a massive life-or-death battle. _'Man, what am I supposed to tell her? I-'_ He blinked as his thoughts were interrupted by a soft thump on his skull, drawing his attention to the smiling pink Hedgehog before him, holding the back of her hand in front of his forehead.

"It'll be fine." she said reassuringly. "We're going to beat this jerk and go home with everyone. Come on, it's not like you to get all down, that's not the Sonic I love."

Sonic blinked, staring for a second as her words sank in. He realized that she was right; this wasn't the time to worry. They had something much more important to do. The blue Hedgehog finally nodded, donning the grin that all of his companions were most familiar with as he turned to face Abaddon. "Yeah, alright Amy, Let's take this guy down."

"So you're finally done prattling on with each other." Abaddon said with the same sneer as before, his arms crossed over his chest. "I was beginning to get bored."

"It's not like we asked you to wait." Knuckles responded, balling up his fists and taking his stance.

"I didn't want you whining that I 'wasn't being fair'." He said rather dryly, lowering his arms to his sides as his red eyes took on a soft glow. "After a few centuries of putting up with that line, I've grown rather tired of hearing it."

"You can't imagine how sorry we all feel for you." Sonic said, his tone dripping with sarcasm, clutching the Chaos Emerald tightly in his right hand as it took on a brilliant glow. "It must have been so hard on you."

"Oh, it was." The silver Hedgehog bit back. "But not nearly as hard as I'm going to be on you." Out of nowhere, a pool of Darkness seeped up from out of the ground and appeared around the vicinity of Abaddon's body. He held his right arm out at his side, beckoning the Darkness to shoot out at it in tendrils, wrapping about it in it's entirety up to his shoulder. It bubbled, twisted and warped itself for a moment or two before it took on a solid shape. The Darkness was now a massive armored arm that stretched almost all the way towards the ground. Razor-sharp claws made up the fingers, pouring thin streams of darkness from their tips. It pulsed with a violet glow once or twice before spikes extended out of it, curving back towards his shoulder, all varying in length. He lifted the massive arm, taking a good look at the palm of the hand, lined with smaller spikes of the same design as those on the length of the arm.

"It's been a long time since I had to draw this out..." he said with a soft chuckle, taking a glance at the items remaining; the Shadow Cape and the Steel Saber, lying alone in the midst of the battlefield. He raised his Darkness arm towards them, palm open, and it shot out, stretching across what was easily a 30 foot distance between the items and him before it widened drastically and slammed down atop both of them. It was only seconds later that the ends of each item emerged from of the shoulder of the arm. From there, tendrils wrapped about the items, fastening them to the appropriate places upon his frame. "Now..." he said, flexing the claw as it retracted back to its normal length. "How about we get things started...?" Without any warning, Abaddon thrust his arm forward, causing it to stretch out like it had before, the clawed hand opened wide as it careened towards the group. The closer it got through, the clearer the target became. It was Rouge he was aiming for. The Bat girl took note of this, immediately jumping to the side with full intent to dodge, when something she didn't expect happened. The limb twisted, continuing to pursue her. The surprise from this actually left her off guard long enough for the gigantic claw to close the gap between them enough to where she couldn't dodge at all, leaving her with her one option. Attack.

Rouge immediately raised the shield up, watching as it began to glow brilliantly and set up for an attack. This process was clearly taking too long though, as by the time it was halfway through its brief charge, the clawed hand slammed into the shield, expanding out into what looked like a net before it wrapped around her, enclosing her and the Radiant Shield in a black, tarp-like object. _'Shit! What is this?!'_ she thought to herself as she managed to fire a blast of Light from the Radiant Shield and into the mass of shadows enveloping her. It cut clean through the Darkness, leaving her a gaping hole that she immediately took flight out of before turning and aiming the shield at Abaddon and firing off another shot only a second later.

"Not good enough!" he exclaimed with great confidence. As soon as the claw returned to his side, he slammed it down into the ground, causing a surge of Darkness to fire off in a ring in front of him, loosening up the earth beneath the rubble enough for him to hook it with his claw and lift it up, blocking the blast in its entirety. Not seconds after, he thrust his arm forward, pushing it through his makeshift earthen barrier and firing off at Rouge again, this time much faster than previously.

"Back off!" Knuckles hollered out, leaping up into the air as the Gaia Gauntlets took on a brilliant glow. In an instant, earth and rocks from below him shot up and encased his arms up to the elbow, the solid shell about them completing just as he swung forward with his left arm. The first strike, with all of his might behind it, already had enough power to stop the massive claw dead in the air. The following strike with his right collided in the exact center of the Darkness limb, firing it back at Abaddon with blistering speed. It wasn't nearly quick enough though, as Abaddon withdrew his arm from the ebony limb and leapt back, a grin gleaming with confidence upon his lips.

That was until he realized what was following in the shadow of the Darkness claw. Not a couple of seconds after it had crashed down, Amy Rose had taken to the air, springing over the claw as it disintegrated and lunging at Abaddon, her eyes locked upon him and her Piko Piko Hammer drawn back to her right side. The Flame Pendant hanging about her neck began to shine a crimson light, one that spread rapidly over the entirety of her body, even over the massive weapon she was wielding. The instant Abaddon touched down on the ground after his leap, the pink Hedgehog swung down at the earth with all of her might, embedding the head of her weapon deep into the rock and soil as the glow vanished off her body as quickly as it came, but less than an instance later, the ground around her seemed to explode in a fiery blaze, creating a hollow pillar of flames that converged over her head and fired in Abaddon's direction in the manner a bullet would out of the barrel of a gun.

"Shit...!" he cursed under his breath, leaping off to the side as the blazing flames rushed by him, liquefying the ground he was standing on only a second ago into a molten ditch. He flipped to his side, springing into the air off of his left hand as his right cocked back and thrust out, sending a transparent wave of Darkness at the pink Hedgehog. Before it could even make contact, the pillar of fire she had launched at him returned, shooting between them and canceling out the Darkness before it could ever reach her. The flames died after that, but the assault was not over. Roots were now firing out of the ground in the wake of the blaze, and upon one them was Amy Rose, her blunt weapon and the Fire-elemental piece of the armor hanging about her neck the only things upon her person still bearing the brilliant shine. This only led the silver Hedgehog to grin as Darkness engulfed his legs below the knees and he fired into the air, leading the pink Hedgehog on a chase skyward as Sonic guided the root she was riding, and continued sending in more for back-up.

'_There's no room for mistakes here.'_ Sonic thought to himself as his eyes remained fixed upon the silver Hedgehog. _'He's going down!'_ "TAILS, KNUCKLES, GO FOR IT!" Sonic hollered out, watching as his best friend took to the sky with the Guardian in tow, the power of the Gale Helmet once again giving his speed a tremendous boost. He could already see that Rouge was ascending to meet with the others at the same height, leaving Sonic to guide Amy from the ground and ensure her safety.

Abaddon quickly spun around, wearing a sick grin as he cocked his left arm back. "Dodge this!" he challenged Amy before thrusting his hand forward. Out of nowhere, the same claw that he had created back on the ground shot from his palm, closing in on the girl in almost no time with the combination of its original thrust speed, as well as her own fast approach.

This wasn't enough to faze Amy though, as she merely sprung up off the root, flipping forward and watching as the claw crashed into it and reduced it to naught but splinters. _'Now's my chance!'_ she thought as she came down, slamming her feet on the claw and charging forth, minding the spikes dotted across the length of the arm. Abaddon had clearly foreseen this, and cut off the flow of Darkness energy to the claw, but it was too late to stop her at this point. Amy slammed her foot down once more at the end of the limb's length, springing forward with her hammer drawn back over her head, and with a loud cry, she swung, her weapon engulfed in flames as if it were an asteroid falling into the atmosphere before connecting and producing a fiery flash bright enough to make it seem as though dawn were arriving in the dead of the night. The connection had given her a boost of confidence, telling her that this was an opponent she could certainly defeat. At least before she tried to move her hammer for a second swing, only to find herself balancing upon its handle in mid-air. "Wh-what...?"

"Come now..." Abaddon said with a sneer as the flash died down, gripping the entirety of the hammer's head with a tremendous claw of Darkness. "You didn't really think that such a simple attack would work, did you?!" As he said this, he drew his other arm back and thrust forward in a swift motion, claws en point and aimed at her throat as he pulled the hammer back with her still on it, intent on cutting clean through the pink Hedgehog's throat and severing her head from her shoulders.

Amy's response was the only one she could muster, to drop. She loosened her grip upon the hammer, immediately dropping from her position over the hammer's handle and swinging down as if she were a gymnast, evading the strike. She allowed herself to slide down the handle and approach Abaddon, her legs tucked in towards her chest. The moment she felt the base of the hammer head against the bottom of her hand, she thrust out with her legs, connecting squarely with his gut and forcing him to release her with a pained grunt. She flipped off of him at the same time, shifting her grip back towards the base of her hammer and spinning in mid-air, directing herself towards one of a dozen other roots that had been on the approach, touching down safely upon it.

"Knuckles, go!" Tails hollered out as he threw the Echidna forward. He watched as Knuckles began to glide at the peak of the throw, waving one hand towards the Echidna and sending forth a powerful gust of wind to speed his approach. With Knuckles on the move, it was his turn to prepare to attack. He stretched his arms out, causing water vapor in the air around him to gather and rapidly condense and freeze, taking on the shape of a thin saber. Although he virtually no experience in wielding weapons like swords, he certainly felt that he had little to lose in the present situation, and began charging forward as soon as his weapon was complete.

"Amy, Tails, all together!" Knuckles hollered towards the pink Hedgehog as he took a sharp rise in his ascent, rising high over Abaddon.

"Got it!" she responded, drawing her hammer back across her body as if preparing to swing a baseball bat.

"Right!"

The Gaia Gauntlets around Knuckles' arms began to glow again, calling the rocks and soil caught on the roots supporting Amy and wrapping them around his arms to replace what he had to discard back on the ground. The added weight immediately stopped his ascent and caused him to fall. Taking careful aim, he pointed himself towards Abaddon, his right arm drawn back as he fell faster and faster, clearly planning to take Abaddon's head off with the attack.

Abaddon merely sneered, drawing the Steel Saber from its sheathe at his hip. He paused in mid-air, the Darkness consuming his legs below the knees and allowing him to fly vanishing as soon as the trio closed in. As soon as they all swung forward with their own strikes, he acted, spinning rapidly to the side just once before countering with his own attacks. His right hand met Tails' ice saber head-on with the Steel Saber, cleaving through the weapon with virtually no effort whatsoever. His left met with Knuckles' crushing blow, his arm engulfed in Darkness energy and catching the attack without so much as flinching under the tremendous pressure. Both of his feet collided with Amy's hammer, also engulfed in Darkness energy, stopping her attack dead in mid-swing. "Weaklings." He said, eying Tails in particular. He drew the Steel Saber back over his chest and began to swing forth, only to be interrupted as a blast of Light of energy connected with his back, blowing him out from between the trio and causing him to entirely miss his swing upon the Fox, now crying out in a great amount of pain as he was carried higher and higher into the sky.

Rouge was at the source of the attack that had sent Abaddon flying, clearly straining under its force before she released her hold on it and allowed her shield-bearing arm to fall to her side. _'This thing... it really takes it out of you...'_ she thought to herself, panting slightly and shaking her head in an attempt to fight the weariness brought on by the use of the item in her grip.

By the time Abaddon stopped, he was easily hundreds of feet higher than before. If not for the Shadow Cape hanging over his back, one would most certainly be able to tell he had been blasted by the Radiant Shield by the burn he could feel searing down his spine. "That bitch..." he growled as his grip on the Steel Saber tightened.

"Hope you're not talking about Amy." A familiar, cocky voice sounded off right behind him.

Abaddon's eyes widened immediately before he felt a blunt connection with the top of his skull, firing him down towards the ground. It only took him a second to turn around and see Sonic, holding a wooden replicate of Amy's Piko Piko Hammer. Although it certainly didn't connect quite as hard as the pink Hedgehog's original heavy mallet, it was still a most painful experience to take that kind of blow. "BASTARD!" he roared, stopping himself and thrusting both arms forward, sending a torrent of black spikes firing from his palms and towards the Hedgehog.

"Chaos Control!" Sonic hollered, vanishing from view as the spikes shot past where he had originally been only seconds later.

Abaddon spun about immediately after that as a flash appeared behind his back, thrusting his left hand out as his massive claw once more formed over his arm, meeting the blue Hedgehog in the midst of a hammer strike. "Too slow!"

"You've got some nerve calling **me **slow!" Sonic retorted, immediately flipping forward off the hammer and swinging his heel down at the silver Hedgehog, successfully connecting square with his head in the same place the hammer strike had, causing him to holler out in pain as he released the hammer was flung towards the ground. Grasping his now freed weapon, Sonic grinned and vanished, appearing just below Abaddon and timing his swing with his fall, smashing a third blow into his abdomen and firing him off to the side. In another flash, he was gone, but this time, he did not go to Abaddon. No, this time, he moved to his comrades, appearing in the air between them with a grin. "Let's do it!"

Sonic first vanished with Amy, setting her directly in Abaddon's path before vanishing once again. The pink Hedgehog didn't need to be told what to do from there as the Flame Pendant and her Piko Piko Hammer took on crimson glows once again. "Eat this!" she exclaimed as she drew her hammer back across her body as she had before. Just as before, she swung forth, flames burning brightly around her hammer. This time though, there was no interference. She connected sharply with Abaddon's back, causing an explosion that fired him right back into the sky, and aimed towards her next teammate already set in place, Tails.

Both the Gale Helmet and the Sea Greaves began to glow as the two-tailed Fox watched Abaddon approach. Razor sharp ice shards began to form in the air as the wind before him picked up and began to circulate, forming into a cyclone before long, sucking in the ice shards, and Abaddon as soon as he came within reach. Agonized cries could be heard within as the high-speed winds carried the ice shards, no doubt slashing and stabbing him as he was carried around within the funnel. "Knuckles!" Tails called out, opening a hole in the vortex, allowing Abaddon to be flung from it towards the ground below where Knuckles stood and waited.

Knuckles punched his fists together in anticipation as he saw Abaddon coming towards him. "Time for some payback!" he said with a slight grin. He dropped to one knee, raising both arms together over his head, before slamming them into the ground, causing two earthen pillars to rise up before him. Once Abaddon came within range, he quickly brought his two hands together on the ground, causing the pillars to bend over and slam together, breaking apart on impact and leaving Abaddon coughing up blood where he floated in the air. "Rouge, now!" Knuckles hollered, immediately turning tail and rushing away, knowing well what was coming next.

Rouge was positioned over the exact spot that the pillars had crashed into Abaddon, the Radiant Shield glowing brilliantly at her side as she looked down upon the scene. _'This shot ends it…'_ she thought to herself as she quit flapping her wings and pointed the shield towards the ground Abaddon was so briefly hovering over. "This is it!" she cried out, immediately firing forth a tremendous beam of Light energy. It was only a couple of seconds before the blast reached Abaddon, connecting and slamming him into the earth, boring into Prison Island and firing him into its depths with such speed, not even a cry of pain could be heard. It was several more seconds before Rouge ended the flow of energy, gazing down into a smoldering hole created by the blast as she descended towards the ground, touching down a moment later as she dropped to her knees, panting heavily as she leaned forward upon one hand.

"Rouge, are you alright?!" Sonic enquired as he rushed forward, setting the Chaos Emerald and his hammer to the ground as he knelt beside the Bat girl.

"Y... yeah..." she breathed out, putting on a smirk. "Just a little spent from those shots..."

"Looks like it was worth it though." Knuckles said as he approached the two, his arms crossed over his chest. "I think this time we've got him."

"With all those shots? Of course!" Amy said, once more donning her cheerful and positive demeanor, shouldering the Piko Piko Hammer and winking. "Between the five of us and these items, only the Gods and Goddesses could stop us!"

"I think that last part's a little out there, Amy..." Tails said with a smile. "In any case, Cream and Omega have already gone to get Shadow, so let's go find them."

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" a voice thundered from the hole, followed by an sphere of Darkness energy shooting from the hole before coming to a stop over it at ground level, surging erratically and firing bolts of the black and violet energy in random directions before fading, leaving a clearly battered and beaten Abaddon hovering, blood dripping and oozing from wounds all over his body, his gaze fixed upon the group of heroes in a wide-eyed glare.

"No way...!" Knuckles breathed out, his fists clenched at his sides. "How can he still be going after all of that?!"

"I suppose it shouldn't be too surprising..." Rouge muttered as she fought to her feet, gripping the Radiant Shield at her side. "He is leeching off of Havoc, after all..."

"HEY!" Amy hollered out, pointing her hammer at the infuriated silver Hedgehog. "Back off you creep! You've got no chance of winning against all of us, you're just waaaAAAHHH!" she shrieked as she suddenly felt herself being pulled down, vanishing into a pool of Darkness that had emerged beneath her feet.

"AMY!" Sonic hollered, turning from a horrified expression at the sight of the pink Hedgehog being drawn into the Darkness to a much more hateful one at the silver Hedgehog. "What did you do to her?!"

"Nothing... yet..." Abaddon growled, holding his hand out and calling the Darkness back to him. It immediately sprang up off the ground, flying towards him as it began to take on a familiar shape before finally appearing as the Shadow Cape. "If you idiots knew more about these items though, you'd be able to do more than just call about such simple attacks. Powerful, certainly, but they don't even begin to touch the true potential of these items... For instance, the Shadow Cape is primarily for stealth purposes, and grants limited control of Darkness, but it can also be laid as a trap to capture one's enemies. You fools knocked it off of me in the midst of your little group attack, so it was just a matter of waiting for the moment to spring it after that."

"Then where's Amy?!"

"You'll have your little tramp back in a moment." Abaddon said as he reached for the cape with his free hand. His clawed hand vanished within, seeming to feel around for several seconds before the same sinister smile as before curled across his lips. He sharply drew his hand back, now holding the Flame Pendant within his grip. He then lifted it to the hand holding the Shadow Cape, slipping it into the grip of that hand to free up the one. "Now... just one more thing." He said, his tone disturbingly calm as he raised his one free hand in front of the Shadow Cape, the palm held up parallel with it. A spray of black and violet needles shot forth from his palm after that, shooting into the item of Darkness in bursts, firing at least a dozen different times as the cape rattled from the impacts. "You can have her back now." Abaddon said with a chuckle as he drew the cape across his chest before swinging his arm out. As if it were a magic trick, Amy Rose flew out of the cape, flung towards the solid ground. Instead of being returned just as she had vanished though, she was a horrible mess, her body riddled with gashes, wounds and puncture marks. He watched as she slammed on her front on the ground, bouncing up slightly and flipping over to her side, rolling two or three times before coming to a stop, her breathing labored and her body trembling from pain.

"AMY!" Sonic hollered, concern evident in his tone as he ran to her, dropping to his knees by her side and tenderly lifting her upper body into his arms, only receiving a pained groan as a response from the pink Hedgehog.

Abaddon chuckled as he donned the Shadow Cape and Flame Pendant, extending his hand out to the side as a sphere of Darkness appeared by his palm. "My, this scene looks familiar..." he remarked as he dipped his hand into the sphere and pulled out the Steel Saber. "Ah, yes, I recall... this is just like when she died before, isn't it? Save for the lack of the huge hole in her gut, I'd say it's almost identical. How about we make it a repeat performance?" As he said this, all three of the items began to glow with their own energies, siphoning into and around the Steel Saber, his own Darkness energy included. "I'll tell you something before I kill you all... the true power of the items is drawn from the souls that they collect. The more souls its user can allow each individual item to contain, the more powerful the items grow. Of course, the items are wasted on you fools in that regard, you who won't do what it takes to gain true power. That is why you lose, and that is why you will die here and now."

Only a second after that, four walls shot up around them, spaced only about 15 feet apart from one side to the other. Darkness shot over the tops of the walls, enclosing them

"Wh, what's going on?!" Knuckles stammered out, looking back and forth between the walls.

"He's boxing us in!" Tails exclaimed, clenching his fists tightly.

"What's he going to do though?!"

"Are you really that stupid...?" Rouge said bitterly, glaring at Abaddon as she rose to her feet and raised the Radiant Shield as it began to glow. "He's going to try and kill us!"

"How right you are, Rouge!" Abaddon said, his voice brimming with confidence as the glow around the Steel Saber became even brighter. "This next attack is going to put a stop to all this ridiculousness once and for all. I hope you'll forgive me for not playing with you any longer, but I'm really a very busy Hedgehog with a lot of things to take care of!" He immediately swung the saber out to his side, causing it to flash before it erupted with a tremendous amount of energy, so much that the hole he rose out was broken open several more feet on all sides.

"We've got to get out of here before he attacks!" Tails stated, looking immediately to Sonic. "Can you use Chaos Control to do it?!"

Sonic turned his head to the two-tailed Fox, nodding as he looked to where he had set the Chaos Emerald before, just a couple feet from where he was standing, only to see nothing. "H, hey! Where's the emerald?!"

"You mean this?" Abaddon questioned as dipped his free hand into the sphere of Darkness once more, drawing out the single Chaos Emerald that the blue Hedgehog had been using and holding it out at arm's length. "I'm disappointed Sonic. You really should be more careful with things like this. To lose something so valuable..."

"You bastard..." Sonic growled, glaring daggers at the silver Hedgehog.

"Don't blame me for your carelessness. I wasn't the one who decided to let it out of my sight, was I? Now, as much of a 'pleasure' as it's been to have your company, I'm afraid it's time for you to die. Oh, and, Ms. Rose, I'm so sorry that you came back to die a second time, but look at it this way..." said the silver Hedgehog as he raised the weapon over his head with a sneer, sickening amounts of confidence dripping from every syllable he spoke. "At least you'll all be together this time..." Abaddon brought down the Steel Saber, unleashing all of the energy he had stored up within it and firing it off in a tremendous blast, one with such force that it actually shattered the walls that he had erected to keep the heroes in place from force of the slash alone. The energy released after the swipe of the blade ripped through the land, shredding and pulverizing everything in its path as it rapidly approached the heroes, leaving them with no defense or means of escape.

"Chaos Control!" shouted another voice, going unheard to the heroes as it combated with the deafening sounds of the ground being blown away before their feet. A flash appeared behind them, followed by another in just an instant, taking with it the five from the clutches of certain death at the absolute final second.

One more instant later, the heroes reappeared, standing far outside the range of attack in the same manners they had been in the midst of the strike. Rouge was the first to come to her senses about what had just happened, her eyes widening in sudden realization as she spun around, her eyes falling upon the face of the one whose safety she had been working so hard to ensure, Shadow the Hedgehog. "Sh, Shadow..." she stammered, unable to restrain a relieved smile that spread over her lips. "It's really you…?"

Shadow huffed, smirking slightly at the Bat girl's reaction to his presence, in spite of the clear exhaustion showing on his features. "Such a stupid question..." he muttered in his usual cold fashion. He immediately looked to Sonic, raising an eyebrow as he watched the blue Hedgehog stand up with Amy Rose cradled in his arms. "I see that a lot of things have been happening while I've been stuck down there."

Sonic, having regained his own bearings by this point, turned around to face the black Hedgehog, cradling Amy Rose in his arms as he put on a grin of his own. "You don't know the half of it. This is all your fault for getting caught, you know."

"Hmph, it wouldn't be the first time that I played a hand in the onset of total annihilation."

"Hey..." Amy managed to breathe out as she looked to Shadow, donning a serious expression in spite of her pain. "Where... where are Cream, Cheese and Omega...?"

"They'd only get in our way here, so I had Omega take the kid and her pet to the other side of the island." Shadow responded bluntly. "Omega can't use the items, and a child and a Chao wouldn't have a hope in being able to control them, it's better this way." He then turned his head in the direction of where he had rescued the others, his eyes narrowing at the sight. "This is really bad if he can do things like that though..."

"Yeah..." Knuckles began, obviously in awe and horror at the sight before him. "He annihilated that entire part of the island with one swipe! He's got some unbelievable power behind him!"

"Yeah, but take a look at Abaddon!" Tails pointed out, turning the others' heads to the silver Hedgehog, who looked to be doubling over in pain as he hovered to the ground. "What's wrong with him?!"

"I've seen him like that before..." Shadow muttered. "He acted that way after he beat me when he came to get me."

"_**It's a backlash from his usage of my power."**_

The heads of the now six present heroes turned to the sight of Havoc, the goddess of Darkness, standing with a morbidly serious expression as she clutched a familiar looking black sphere in her right hand, walking to the forefront of the group of heroes and coming to a halt with something of a grin upon her lips. _**"371 years and you still overdose on my power when you start letting out the heavy blows. I'm amazed that you haven't killed yourself with it yet, Abaddon."**_

Abaddon snickered in a most sinister fashion as he fixed his posture, now standing upright as he looked upon the goddess standing with the heroes. "Havoc... it's so good to see you again. You can't imagine how lonely it's been without you..."

"_**You can't imagine how sorry I am about that."**_ She retorted as she glanced over her shoulder. _**"Here, Bat girl, catch."**_ As soon as the final word passed her lips, she tossed the black sphere over her shoulder to the Bat girl, watching as she reached up with her free hand and caught it with relative ease. _**"When you're given something by a god or goddess, you should take better care of it than just leaving it to sit in a jet on the other side of the planet."**_

"Rouge blinked, turning her gaze to the sphere in silence at Havoc's words, staring thoughtfully at it. _'What... does she want me to do something with this?'_

"_**HAVOC!"**_ sounded off a familiar, yet panicked female voice, turning all eyes to the Wind goddess Mistral rushing from a gate of light, followed by her other siblings. _**"What are you doing here all by yourself?! Abaddon's right there, you haven't forgotten what he can do to you, have you?!"**_

"_**No, Mistral, no I haven't..."**_ Havoc replied, looking to the silver Hedgehog as her youngest sister stopped beside her. _**"In fact, he's the entire reason that I'm here."**_

"_**What the Hell are you going on about?!"**_ Orchard asked as he stopped beside Mistral, followed immediately after by their other five siblings.

"_**I wouldn't expect kids to understand."**_ She muttered as she started forward towards Abaddon, only to pause as Radiance rushed in front of her, wearing a morbidly serious expression.

"_**Havoc, that is enough!"**_ The goddess of Light said in a very commanding tone, reaching out and grasping her older sister by her wrist, holding on with a firm grip._** "I don't know what you've got up your sleeve, but I will not allow you to put yourself in jeopardy like this! We're going back!"**_

"_**Bad move little sister."**_ The Echidna muttered. A second later, dozens of bony hands fired out from Radiance's shadow, wrapping around her from her ankles to her shoulders and pulling her off the Darkness goddess, bringing her to the ground and pinning her on her front, leaving her struggling to free herself as Havoc continued to approach Abaddon.

"_**HAVOC!"**_ Radiance hollered out, attempting to burn away the restraining limbs with Light energy, only to find that they regenerated as quickly as they disappeared.

"_**Don't be such a fool."**_ She said coldly, coming to a halt only a few seconds later, glancing over her shoulder to her siblings and the heroes who had fought so hard against Abaddon. _**"The mortals... they never stood a chance to begin with."**_

"What the Hell do you mean, 'we never stood a chance'?!" Knuckles growled, obviously frustrated by the Darkness goddess' tone and words.

"_**Do I have to spell it out for you? Think about it. He has access to my power, the power of a god. Even without full control over it, even if you beat him down to within an inch of his life, he'd just get away and recover. In fact..."**_ Havoc turned her head to Abaddon, placing one hand on her hip and smirking slightly. _**"It's what you're doing right now, isn't it?"**_

Abaddon chuckled slightly, unable to help but shrug as he walked forward, revealing streams of Darkness rising from the ground and pouring into his back, slowly closing opened wounds and mending all internal injuries he had sustained from the most recent beating. "You're as sharp as ever... of course, that leaves me to wonder, what brings you here? Have you given up and realized the inevitable, Havoc? I wouldn't blame you if you did. In fact, I'd be more impressed than anything that after 350 years, it finally sank in that sooner or later, I would finish what I started."

"_**... Heh..."**_

Abaddon perked an eyebrow as he heard this, watching Havoc's shoulders shake slightly as she began to chuckle, wearing something of a sad smile upon her lips as she did. "Is something entertaining about this to you?"

"_**Sort of... I have to say, you're half-right. I did realize inevitability. But 'finishing what you started'? Hardly..."**_

"Oh? Than tell me, fair one, what was it that dawned on you so suddenly? What is this unavoidable truth that you have come to present me with?"

"_**It's simple, really..."**_ As Havoc said these words, a black and violet aura began to swirl about her, spiraling from her feet to the top of her head. The ground seemed to tremble for a moment, as if preparing to unleash a tremendous force. She raised her right hand out to her side, holding it parallel to the ground briefly as the shaking slowed to a halt. There was silence all around for a moment, none present daring to speak or budge a single inch. The silence was broken as a thundering noise erupted from the ground, followed by a tall, narrow, black, silver and red object shooting up from underground and flying into the air several feet overhead before falling back to the ground, directly at the goddess. Havoc swiped her right hand overhead, grasping the object out of the air and bringing it swiftly down to her side with a hard swing, causing waves of Darkness energy to fly out over the ground before her, obliterating all of the rubble in its path and completely smoothing the field between she and the silver Hedgehog. The identity of the object in her hand was now clear.

It was a spear. The head was solid steel, forged in the shape of a flame with only 2 tips extending from the larger body. A Ruby ring attached the spear head to the black iron pole, engraved with blood red runes from pre-historic times. Havoc donned a grin as she adjusted her grip on the spear, twirling it between her fingers just once before resting it against her shoulder. **_"I'm taking the fight to you."_**

* * *

Author: Alright, that's one out of the way, time to get running on the next one. 

Sonic: Ah-

Author: IT WILL NOT TAKE ANOTHER HALF A YEAR.

Sonic: Never mind.

Author: In fact, by the time most of the readers get to this point, I should already be a couple pages in to the next chapter.

Rouge: 'Should' and 'will' are entirely different things though.

Author: Hush. I'm finally at a point I've been planning since Cream's chapters, this shouldn't take too long.

Shadow and Abaddon: We hope...


	25. Darkness Over World, Part 3

**Distant Shadows Chapter 25-**

**Darkness Over World, Part 3**

What can I say about this...? This was definitely not my proudest moment, in that I took so long leaving you all hanging on this final chapter. For that, I offer my most sincere apologies. Best I can sum up without boring you to tears before the story even got off the ground? Life happened as it tends to do, and I had a hard time looking back for a long time. But, to those of you who still want to read this after so long, to those I've kept waiting and who followed faithfully with the last 24 updates, I owe you this, for my credibility as an author and as a thanks to you. Couldn't just leave a story this close to being done just hanging forever. It took a long time, but here's the final chapter of Distant Shadows. Thanks, everyone, I hope you enjoy it, and whatever I may post again in the future.

* * *

"Take the fight to me, you say?" Abaddon queried, a grin on his lips as he rose a hand towards her. "Certainly you must be joking. You honestly believe that you can take me on?"

"_**Won't know until I try, right?"**_ Havoc countered, twirling the spear at her side with a bemused expression. _**"Last I checked, **_**I**_** was still the goddess around here. You're just the power hungry worm."**_

"Oh, my, forgive my ignorance, dear Havoc." Abaddon chuckled, feigning a bow. "I'm just a foolish mortal after all, what can I poss-" He was stopped dead as something plowed right into him, thrusting him into the ground and deep into the depths of Prison Island.

Havoc sniffed, her arm held out as a violet bolt crackled around her fingertips before she whipped the hand to the side, dispersing it.

"That..." Rouge muttered, stunned just by how she simply dispatched him.

"_**Was just a taunt."**_ Havoc said, turning her eyes over her shoulder as they began to turn black and red as she gripped her spear. The shaft of the weapon morphed, taking on a much more lethal appearance as razor edges came up within a couple feet of the spear head, and a second one formed at the base. _**"All of you, clear out. This island's going to sink and I'm going to see to that."**_

"You're going to fight him alone?" Knuckles asked, stepping forward with a frown, holding perhaps the best grasp on how serious that was thanks to what he'd been told before by Igneous and Tsunami. "Isn't he the most dangerous to you?"

"_**It's also my business."**_ She said flatly. _**"I do have need for one of you though."**_ She snapped her fingers, and at that very moment, a bat girl appeared up from her shadow, looking rather dazed and disoriented. She could see the other mortals' confusion, Rouge now standing beside her instead of in place in their group.

"How did you-" Tails began.

"_**Goddess."**_ Havoc stated flatly, looking to Rouge. _**"You haven't lost that sphere yet, right?"**_

Rouge looked to her, shaking off her sudden movement as she frowned. "You did just give it to me."

"_**Just making sure."**_ She shrugged casually, starting to walk towards the hole before halting dead in her tracks, blinking a little bit as spears of light erupted from the ground before her. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes falling upon Radiance, who scowled angrily at her.

"_**You always do this."**_ She hissed, walking forward at a fever pace as she came upon her sister, stopping dead in front of her, completely ignoring Rouge's very existence. _**"Always the big bad girl who can take care of herself, who doesn't need others, and now you scorn our help in favor of this child?"**_ she said, the most acknowledgement Rouge would get. _**"You can't win this alone! Let us fight, let us **_**help**_** you!"**_

"_**... You still don't get it, little sister."**_ Havoc said, sighing as she stepped forward, draping an arm over the cat's shoulders and leaning forward. _**"Abaddon is my sin. He is the mistake that I made, for forsaking our laws and for crossing boundaries that should never have been broken, ever."**_ She looked to Radiance, frowning a little. _**"You've always been loyal to me, always had my back, but where I'm going, there is only darkness. Light cannot penetrate."**_

"_**Sister..."**_ Radiance breathed out, seeming on the verge of tears before she felt arms wrap tightly around her, pulling her close in to a hug. Radiance bit her bottom lip, lowering her head and hugging her back. _**"... We're twins, at least we're as good as... Light and Darkness cannot exist without one another... I don't give a damn about the natural balance, you... If you died, Havoc, then I'd..."**_

"_**You'll be fine."**_ She said, feeling the cat jump against her. _**"So stop acting like a scared little girl."**_ She sighed, gently pushing Radiance back as she looked to her other siblings. _**"The world still needs its balance maintained. My absence would double your workload, but it beats the hell out of a world where he's standing in my stead, don't you think? ... You'll manage, I promise. But don't think I'm not planning on coming back either."**_

"_**Sis..."**_ Mistral whimpered, earning a slightly more sympathetic look.

"_**Don't cry."**_ Havoc said firmly, watching the fox girl gulp back her tears and nod, though she still looked on the brink of having them spill over. _**"If you have to, save them for when you know I'm not coming back."**_ She looked past Mistral, her eyes falling upon the mortals with a stern look. _**"As for you all, give me the armor you've gathered up."**_

This statement raised some prickles in Sonic's spine as he frowned, looking to the goddess. "Just what are you planning?"

"_**The coup de grace, as your people call it."**_ She said, setting a hand on her hip as she sank her spear into the ground beside her. _**"I require the shield, gauntlets, breast plate and helmet, and since the bat already has the shield, you can figure what's left. Hand them over."**_

There were a few seconds of contemplation to be had, but Tails was the first to step forward, removing the helmet and coming upon Havoc, holding it out to her.

Havoc nodded gratefully, reaching out and grasping the helmet, taking it under her arm as she looked to the others, waiting quietly.

Sonic and Knuckles exchanged glances before nodding to one another, removing their respective items and walking forward, handing off the Redwood Breastplate and Gaia Gauntlets to the dark goddess.

"_**Thank you."**_ She said flatly, gathering the items up and turning to face the hole she'd plowed Abaddon into, her eyes narrowing._** "Now, get back. He's coming."**_

It wasn't another moment before Abaddon erupted from the ground, darkness ripping through the air around him as he hovered in place, holding the Steel Saber at his side. Flames licked off of the pendant around his neck, and the greaves at his feet glowed with a brilliant blue light, reflecting in even the tiniest bodies of water scattered about the island.

"You're getting to be a real pest." He hissed. "That was insulting."

"_**Oh, dear me, was it?"**_ Havoc taunted, playing off a smirk. _**"And here I thought you'd appreciate my little love tap."**_

Abaddon didn't respond, verbally anyways. He drew the steel saber across his chest, pouring energy into it as it lit with a white glow, before slashing out, sending a massive, blade-shaped ray at the goddess and the bat beside her.

Havoc tossed the other items at Rouge, quickly snatching the Radiant Shield from her in return and charging it with her own energy. Something bizarre seemed to happen, as a light of several colors lit around it. She swung forward with it, right as the beam should have impacted them.

Instead, some few miles back, an explosion ripped through the ground behind the entire group, turning the heads of all present save the two combatants.

"Wh, what the...?" Knuckles stammered, watching as Tails flew straight up into the air.

The young fox's eyes widened in disbelief at what he saw, even from the distance. A new gash tore into the island, ripping into its sub-levels and exposing them utterly for all to see. "It... moved, the attack, it was moved!"

"How?" Knuckles exclaimed, looking around the group. The gods and goddesses seemed to be aware of something, as they stared at Havoc's back, less surprised than the mortals among them. Sonic and Shadow, even, seemed to have detected something.

"It felt like..." Shadow muttered.

"_**Chaos Control."**_ Havoc stated flatly, earning all eyes.

"Chaos Con-how?" Sonic exclaimed, as baffled as the rest of his party. "He's got the Chaos Emerald!"

"_**Hedgehog, do you know what lies between Light and Darkness?"**_ she asked, bringing pause to the hedgehog. _**"The absolutes of the two are not without a middle ground. An unstable, erratic, devastating, and unbelievably powerful force created when the two forces are brought together that you and your allies have tapped into repeatedly. The Chaos Emeralds are the physical embodiment of that power."**_ She readied her weapon in hand, crouching low before she charged Abaddon with a shriek, one that bore much more rage, much more brutality to it than the goddess had shown just that second ago addressing Sonic.

As the goddess of darkness engaged her opponent, Knuckles spared a look to Igneous, his eyes wide. "Is she...?"

Igneous nodded. _**"Completely serious. Light and Darkness exist as parallels, the greatest forces in our universe, likely in any other as well. Our own elements, such as water and fire, even fall into their respective jurisdictions. When these two opposing forces meet, a powerful reaction occurs."**_ He stamped a hoof down, bringing up several walls as bolts of darkness flew at them, blocking them as the walls exploded into mere dust and debris. _**"You, hedgehog, should know this first hand. When you first fought Chaos, he drained the power of the emeralds, you believed. However, you drew from them another power. He carried the darkness, and you bore the light. It is why they reacted back then as they did, why you were able to save this world that time. Chaos is a very whimsical force, and those who control it control an ultimate power, rivaling the combined forces of our elements. It's why you, Shadow, were so pivotal to Abaddon, I assume. With Chaos Control, a role as the new god of darkness, and the armor at his command, I'm sure even our father with his own powers over life and death would have been met with a challenge, perhaps an undefeatable foe."**_

"Then why doesn't he just settle with the shield and be done with it?" Shadow asked, looking hard at Igneous.

"_**Because that form is unstable."**_ Radiance interjected, now her turn to garner the attention of the group. _**"The Chaos Emeralds create a focus point for the energy and store it, allowing the users to tap a pre-existing, contained force at will however they wish, a safer method of doing it. What Havoc is doing..."**_ She looked to the battle, watching a little blood shoot into the air as Havoc made due with another blast of Chaos Control, this time sending a ray firing into the sky as if it were nothing. Her shield-bearing arm, however, seemed to smoke and burn, baring raw spots to their eyes, and even offering up a little blood. _**"... What's happening is they're creating new chaos, unrestrained, unhampered. What isn't used has a backlash upon them both, primarily her, and if the balance is incorrect..."**_

"Then what?" Tails asked. "What happens if the balance is off?"

"_**Um... you know the Sky Sanctuary Zone?" **_Mistral asked, a question that seemed trivial, but earned a nod from the fox. _**"We'll get blown higher than that."**_

"What?" Knuckles exclaimed.

"_**Two most potent elements forming together, it only takes a little to create enough chaos to move a person."**_ Radiance said, her eyes fixed on the fight as Abaddon's claw grew bladelike extensions at the 'fingers', and he began to slash and strike back as Havoc parried every single blow._** "At the volume they're using it this island would be the second floating one on the planet... for about three seconds before it plummeted to earth again. We should-"**_ She stopped suddenly, vanishing quickly in a literal flash, reappearing before them and holding her hands out. A wall of light formed, intercepting a barrage of smaller rays of darkness, dozens upon dozens pounding into the wall, and actually seeming to earn a light strain from the goddess.

Havoc clearly took notice of this, turning her head to her family and the mortals. _**"Radiance!"**_

"You're open!" Abaddon howled, raising his claw up into the air and swiping it down. It slammed into Havoc from above, sending the shield flying from her grip, earning a hard grunt from her as she was driven down to the earth below, slamming into it with such force it buckled, threatening to give way to the lower layers of the island beneath as it cratered. He spared a quick glance to his side, his barrage of darkness complete, as Radiance dropped her shield and the others seemed to prepare for an attack. Wasting no time, he drew his hand clutching the Steel Saber back, the Flame Pendant taking on a glow of its own, wrapping the blade in flames as he dove down, the claw retracting every bit of the way until he was upon her. He thrust it down, straight through her right arm, beckoning an agonized cry from her as the flames not only seared her arm, but immediately cauterized what would have otherwise been a very bloody wound. "And you're mine!"

"_**Havoc!"**_ Radiance called out, readying an attack as she dropped her guard, the other siblings quickly getting ready themselves to do the same, and even the mortals among them.

"Not so fast!" Abaddon snapped, releasing the Steel Saber and grasping a familiar gem, holding it out towards them. "Chaos Control!" He watched a burst of energy engulf them, all of them, as a whole, sending them careening as far away as possible. They were removed from the equation, and there was no more interference to be had. He chuckled darkly, looking down to the goddess as he leered at her. "They're a long, long ways off now. Even by the time I'm done with you, they'll be too late."

"_**Suits me fine..."**_ she growled in pain, shadows licking up around her, preparing an attack before she felt his hand slam down on her chest between her breasts, earning a pained cry as his claws pierced her flesh and dug into her. Strength rapidly began to leave her, and it flowed directly into him as he began to rapidly drain the last vestiges of power within her into himself.

He was stopped cold as a blast collided into his back, sending him sailing across the island. Havoc managed to sit up, clutching the bleeding wounds on her chest as she looked towards the source of the light, seeing Rouge standing with the Radiant Shield, glowing hot with energy.

"_**Still got that orb?"**_ the dark goddess asked, earning a nod from the bat girl. _**"Get ready then, that's our trump card!"**_

Rouge nodded, drawing the black sphere out and looking at it. In spite of what she was told though, she had no clue what she was supposed to do with the blasted thing. It had just been presented to her, under the guise of some kind of reward, weeks ago. She shook her head, assuming some kind of direction would come shortly. In the mean time, she'd have to simply wait and see what happened.

He came back without warning, tearing over the ground furiously, his feet not even touching the surface. Abaddon had to be nearing levels of speed, maybe even surpassing, Sonic's own. Rouge readied the shield, preparing to intercept the attack.

"_**Destroy the sphere, now!"**_

Rouge's eyes widened, looking to the echidna as she cast a harsh gaze to her.

"_**Are you deaf?"**_she snapped. _**"Shatter it!"**_

_I hope you know what you're doing!_ Rouge thought to herself, raising the sphere over her head and flinging it to the ground. Abaddon had closed in right about that time, currently between the two of them the instant that the orb struck the ground, shattering into thousands of pieces.

The entire world turned black.

* * *

Rouge didn't know what happened, where she was or where Abaddon and Havoc were. There was nothing defining about the area she was in, the world was entirely pitch black. She hadn't even felt anything move, but as she took cautious steps around, she found nothing but a distinctly flat surface, none of the rubble that belonged on Prison Island.

Suddenly the entire world quaked, and Havoc crashed down, hacking up blood and lying on her side as she clutched something against her chest, curling up protectively around it.

"Havoc!" Rouge exclaimed, running to her side and kneeling down. She rolled her over, her eyes widening in surprise at what she beheld. "These..."

Havoc offered a wry smirk, if not a feeble one as she pushed a few items towards Rouge. The Flame Pendant, the Sea Greaves and the Shadow Cape. _**"Snagged these when he wasn't looking..."**_ She cringed, grunting in pain and dropping back against the ground, her hand setting over a slash that stretched from her left hip to her right shoulder. _**"Got me with the sword though..."**_

"What's going on?" she asked, caring little for the items as she inspected the wound.

"_**We're in my world..."**_ she growled, pushing herself to sit upright in spite of the clear pain it caused. _**"That orb brought us here. I made it as a gate key from the physical world."**_

"Gate key? But, then aren't we just unconscious back on Prison Island?"

"_**No, we're actually **_**here**_** right now, Rouge."**_ Havoc said. _**"I'm the only person with free access here, I made that to bring you both here. This world's connected to me, and when he sent the others off, he gave us the window to use it. We're isolated now, just him and us."**_

"Fantastic..." Rouge muttered, blinking as Havoc held up one of the items she snagged, the Flame Pendant.

"_**You're going to want to start putting these on, now."**_ She said flatly. _**"I'm not exactly the best person to lead this battle."**_

"... You can't be serious." Rouge muttered, although she snatched the item, putting it on over her head and scowling at the goddess. "You seriously intend for me to fight him?"

"_**That little drain of his took a good quarter of my remaining power, and that was all of five seconds."**_ She snapped, rising to her feet as she waved her hand out. The other items she'd secured from the mortals in Rouge's group emerged from the dark floor. _**"I can hold him off, but killing him even myself equates suicide, as divided as I am from myself right now. You want to go home too, right? Trust me when I say that me coming out of this alive is the best way for both of us."**_

"Oh, great, 'do or die' again." Rouge muttered sourly, kicking her boots off as she slipped her feet into the Sea Greaves, wincing a little at a chill that ran through her as a result. She grabbed up the Shadow Cape, just in time to see something flicker in the distance.

"_**Move!"**_ Havoc ordered, shoving her to the side with such force she went soaring several yards, and just in time as a violet ray of light tore across the ground, actually bringing light to the empty area for a brief instant.

"That was very rude of you, Havoc." Abaddon growled as he walked forward, clutching the Steel Saber in one hand as the darkness claw consuming his left arm crackled audibly and visibly with energy. "It's not nice to take other peoples' things!"

"_**So then I guess you'll be returning the Steel Saber to Forge?"**_ she returned fire, plunging her hand down into the ground and charging forward, ripping her spear out of it as she closed in upon him, taking a broad swipe at him. He leapt over it, lunging at her with the claw.

"Not hardly!" he barked, the claw shooting out before him. Havoc rolled to the side as it crashed into the ground, swiping her spear upwards this time, firing dozens of her own bolts of darkness. Abaddon was quick to block, the claw lurching out at an odd curve and intercepting them with ease. Abaddon sneered at her. "What's wrong, Havoc? You're losing your touch!"

Havoc huffed in irritation, taking her weapon into both hands as she sprung off the ground, beginning to exchange direct blows with him. Thrusts, swipes, slashes and strikes were met, dodged and parried on both accounts, neither landing a decisive strike in either direction. As the fight wore on, however, it was Havoc beginning to show weakness, sweat beading on her brow as her breathing grew labored.

_What's taking her so long?_ She thought, blocking a strike from the Steel Saber with her spear, holding it in place over her head as she dug her feet against the ground. _I literally gave her the keys to victory, she just needs to get this damned item and it'll be over! What's going on?_

"I'll tell you." Abaddon said, Havoc's eyes widening in alarm at his words as she twisted away, swinging broad at him, forcing him back as she charged, thrusting rapidly, with such speed her blows appeared little more than violet light, yet still none connected. "Oh, I hope I didn't scare you too much now, dear Havoc! Your mind's pretty open to me now with that last chunk of your soul!"

Havoc growled, flipping up into the air and bringing the spear down with such force the area around them rippled. The ground actually receded...

Beneath the ground was Rouge, dressed in seven of the eight armor pieces, unconscious and fighting a losing battle to survive.

"Maybe you should have rethought your trump card after I gained the majority share in your soul." Abaddon sneered.

Havoc looked up, about to shriek in protest as she prepared a charge before cords of darkness began to wrap around her. Her eyes widened as her arms were pinned to her sides, the spear pressed against her body. Her legs were cinched together and her mouth drawn shut. The cords kept coming, further and further obscuring her from view in a wrap so tight her silhouette was clear within it.

The last thing she was as her eyes were closed over were Abaddon's glowing red eyes and that sick, twisted smile.

* * *

Rouge lay in the darkness, somewhere on the border of waking and not. Havoc's shocked face upon the discovery of her predicament had been burned into her mind as she thought of what lay in store for her. She had literally only just completed donning the seven pieces of armor as the world went black, something shot up over and engulfed her entirely.

She had the Radiant Shield, clutched firmly in her grasp and resting over her body, to thank for her life as an aura of light radiated around her, keeping the penetrating shadows from devouring her entirely.

Still, it couldn't remain like this forever. Havoc couldn't fight Abaddon alone, that much was clear. He looked to have been gaining the upper hand before the world swallowed her up again, and now she was left to her own devices, left in limbo between the light of the shield saving her life and the world of shadow trying to close in on her.

_It's all come down to this, and I can't do anything._ Rouge thought, squeezing her eyes shut. _The critical moment and I failed... If I could have only gotten my hands on that damned sword, then this would be done! _

"_It's not over yet!"_ she heard a voice resonate in her mind, her eyes widening although she could see nothing in the black. _"You can still save Havoc!"_

"You... You're the cat?" she spoke to the air.

"_Radiance, Goddess of the Light, yes. Rouge, listen to me, you are by no means out of luck yet. You can still free yourself and save my sister!"_

"I think your sister is the least of our concerns at the moment, no offense." She said flatly.

"_If Havoc perishes and her power is attained by Abaddon then _all_ will suffer for her loss, not only my siblings and I, her safety coincides with that of your world!"_

Rouge couldn't argue that.

"_Listen to me. The items are bound to the elements they were designed for, but four each fall under the domains of Havoc and myself! Do you have the pendant, helmet and breastplate?"_

"I do." Rouge responded quickly.

"_Fire, wind and wood fall under the domain of light, as water, earth and steel fall under darkness. If you channel their energies into the shield, you can rip free of the darkness and engage Abaddon! I must warn you however, it will take some time for their energies to recover after a focused blast like that, so you mustn't use their powers recklessly, or they may backlash upon you."_

"What do I do after that?" she inquired. If she was going to face someone like that, she'd need every advantage she could get, every bit of knowledge she could squeeze from the goddess.

"_Whatever you must. Use every technique or tactic you know, think on your feet, and above all, acquire the Steel Saber. Once the armor is complete, the energies will naturally balance and you will attain its full potential, enough to combat any one of us on an even level when used properly."_

"Good to know that last part..." Rouge muttered, closing her eyes as she began to focus, and the voice began to fade. She could actually feel the energy coursing through her body from the weapons in name and into the shield. She gathered the power, focusing as it began to glow brighter, and brighter, and brighter still. The power finally reached its peak, and when Rouge couldn't contain it any longer, she released.

Light washed over the realm of darkness as a ray blew through the ground and up into the sky. As the light faded, Rouge flew from the blast site and touched down. Her legs nearly buckled as her feet touched down. Perhaps she had invested a little too much, she thought, as she gazed back and saw that darkness failed to recover the area pierced by the light's power.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite little pawn." She heard the familiar voice, spinning about to face Abaddon, clutching onto something she could only discern from the shadow cast by the light behind her.

Havoc's spear.

"You didn't..." she breathed out, turning wide eyes to the crazed hedgehog. A chill like death's touch ran down her spine as she watched his red eyes turn completely black.

"Oh, but **I **_**did."**_ He said, his voice thundering through the whole of the area as darkness bled into the air in wisps around his body. He casually tossed the spear at Rouge, allowing it to clatter to a halt at her feet. _**"And now everything that was hers is mine."**_

Rouge grit her teeth, kneeling down and grasping the spear. She had no training with such a weapon, but that was where Radiance's advice came into play; improvise.

Abaddon's first attack came with no warning as the ground rose and slammed shut around her. Rouge had vanished, making quick use of the Shadow Cape, leaving little more than a bundle of cloth as the ground receded. She emerged from it, her eyes wide as she spun about, swinging the spear broad at Abaddon. He merely backstepped from it and several thrusting attacks that succeeded it.

"_**Come now, you have to be more creative than that!"**_ he taunted, grasping her spear as another thrust came at him and single-handedly whipping her off to the side. Rouge had barely managed to catch herself, only for the world to begin assaulting her. Spears of darkness lunged at her from all sides simultaneously. It was all she could do to twist and evade the blows, the armor taking many glancing blows, but restoring itself from the damage as its energies coursed through out it and her body.

Abaddon was right however. Standard attacks were not going to do anything for her. To top matters off, they were still in Havoc's world, now his. If she was to have any remote chance, she needed to escape and take the fight elsewhere.

The Chaos Emerald on him flashed in her mind.

_It's worth a shot..._ she thought to herself. She needed speed, however, and the wind would be ideal for that. She'd have to risk overtaxing the Gale Helmet. Without a second thought on the matter, it glowed to life with silver light. The Flame Pendant came alight as well, swelling a muted red glow to match the silver beginning to surround her. Sparks shot off in all directions as she spread her wings, accommodated for thanks to the self-fitted breastplate, and took off in a flash, leading with Havoc's weapon of choice pointed right at her foe.

Abaddon veered off just as she came by, his eyes widening a bit at her speed and the trail blazed behind her, burning against the darkness for several seconds before it snuffed itself out. He spun about, watching her make a sharp turn, almost as if on a dime, and fire back. He sprang into the air and she followed all too willfully.

Rouge made a second pass as he lashed out at her weapon, diverting her course and shattering the tool in one strike. This time, she nicked him with her wing, drawing a slash that made quick to disappear, its only evidence in its existence a thin line of blood staining his silver fur. She tossed the ruined remains of the spear away and continued on with her rushes.

"_**What can you hope to accomplish from these futile blitzes?"**_ he challenged, the next pass coming one she paid for as he raised his claw and brought it down, catching her legs as one of her wings slammed into him. Pain coursed through the wing into her spine, and her legs felt as if they were nearly crushed under the force as she was slammed to the ground. Heat burned in her chest and winds tore at her flesh left exposed by the armor as the power began to spiral out of control due to her lack of focus.

She did, however, clutch the goal of her mad charges, holding onto a solitary Chaos Emerald, gripped tight in one hand.

"_**Little thief!"**_ he snarled, raising his claw again.

It occurred to Rouge that particular moment would be a fantastic time to use Chaos Control.

If she knew how.

The claw came down, and she found the strength in her injured legs to spring forward out of the way, the need for survival overcoming the pain. She stumbled to her feet, her legs quivering as she turned to face him, clutching the shield in one hand and the Chaos Emerald in the other.

"_**Be a good little bitch and give me back the Chaos Emerald!"**_ he demanded.

"Not really much of a charmer, are you?" she hissed in defiance.

"_Do you know what lies between Light and Darkness?"_ she recalled hearing Igneous speak to Sonic back on Prison Island. _"The absolutes of the two are not without a middle ground. An unstable, erratic, devastating, and unbelievably powerful force created when the two forces are brought together, that you and your allies have tapped into repeatedly. The Chaos Emeralds are the physical embodiment of that power."_

_Light and Darkness create Chaos..._ she thought, standing off with Abaddon. _It's supposed to be unstable on its own... but maybe..._

Rouge raised the Radiant Shield and began to charge, standing right before Abaddon with a smug grin on her lips.

"_**Oh, you want to play Chicken with me now?"**_ he asked, snickering darkly as he raised his claw, cocking his head off to one side. _**"Very well then! But you **_**will**_** lose!"**_

_I don't need to win._ She thought, gripping the emerald firmly in her hand as she drew back, bracing herself with one leg. _I just need to survive this._ She needed more energy, however. Abaddon didn't look to even be trying, and she could feel the reverberations from his own gathering power in her bones. Once again, she fell back to the other three pieces of armor within Light's domain, her body flaring white as the light engulfed her.

Abaddon's course didn't alter against it at all. It was all a game to him, no doubt on a high from his newly stolen godhood.

Rouge cut loose everything she could spare, and the silver hedgehog unleashed his own fury in response, leaving her the window of a scant few seconds and one shot to pray that this desperate gamble worked. Rouge drew the arm bearing the Chaos Emerald back, and pitched with all the might she could muster without altering the course of her attack. The strength granted by the Gaia Gauntlets shot the emerald past the rays in a low arc...

Right between them as they met.

* * *

_What happened?_ Rouge thought as consciousness began to return to her. She lay atop something soft and damp. Her eyes fluttered open as she began to take in her surroundings. She was at the edge of a pine forest, her body sprawled out over the grass. She pushed herself upright, heaving a pained breath as her body trembled with exertion. There was no questioning it, she'd spent quite a bit on her gambit, but it had worked. She'd been freed from Darkness' realm. Now she needed to find out just where she'd wound up.

Before her gaze could travel much further than the immediate area, she took note of two particular items lying in the foliage. The first, the Chaos Emerald, burned into a hole that looked as though it had been cut from the ground as opposed dug. It radiated more brilliantly than she'd ever seen it in her life, a glorious sight, and a beautiful gem.

Now was not the time to fall back on old habits, however, as she staggered to her feet and forward, her shield bearing arm limp from weakness at her side. She dipped down and scooped the emerald up, tucking it safely away before turning to the next item.

The Steel Saber, lying prone and alone. Its sheathe had only barely survived, but the blade was completely untarnished; a testament to Forge's handiwork, no doubt. Rouge wasted little time as she came upon it in grasping it up from the ground.

Her eyes widened as something impaled her dead through the gut.

"_**Stupid woman."**_ She heard Abaddon chortle as he rose from the ground, from the shadow of the weapon she now clutched in her hand. _**"You actually fell for that... What did you think happened to me? Had you hoped I'd been left behind, or blown away in the blast? Though that was a clever little notion, using Chaos on such a degree."**_

Rouge grit her teeth, opening her mouth and preparing to speak before she felt something tear through her body and shoot out her right side. Blood instead flowed from her mouth in a cough, hanging over as she felt her breathing stifled severely.

"_**I'm really not in the mood to hear you **_**talk**_**, though."**_ He said with some bitterness, the shadow lodged in her body twisting her around to face him and a horribly burnt visage. His skull was actually visible in the worst portions of it, flesh burned black and fur scorched off. Perhaps the most horrific, nightmarish part of the sight was watching it slowly heal, watching flesh crawl over the wounds cauterized shut by the blast and restore him to his shape.

This was not the Abaddon they had been already fighting a losing battle with. This was a god that made Chaos, at the worst in the throes of its own nature when it had achieved the Perfect form, seem tolerable. Abaddon was pure, indescribable evil of the likes no mortal should have ever encountered.

She howled in pain as the spike branched up, shooting out her collarbone. Her vision began to blur and fade from pain and a steadily growing loss of blood.

"_**So close to your goal, Rouge. How does it feel?"**_ Abaddon sneered, leaning forward and grasping her head at the back, half ramming his forehead against the helmet, a gesture that didn't even make him wince. _**"To have all your efforts stripped from you like this? Don't worry though, I'll do good on my word. Your Shadow is free, at least until I skin him alive for the hell of it."**_

Rouge felt her arm move, though she didn't know exactly why as a ringing built up in her ears.

"_**Perhaps I'll finish off that child with her mother."**_

She felt something well up inside of her, something burning at her eyes. It was as if a new strength washed over her.

"_**Well, we'll see what happens. It would be a shame to just waste these new powers maintaining things, wouldn't it?"**_

As a glow lit up between them, and Rouge's eyes widened so far she swore her eyes would pop out of her head, she realized what was giving her strength, as she stared at the ever more maniacal hedgehog god.

She was utterly and unbelievably pissed off.

The spikes ripped from her body as a ray of light blew into Abaddon, the Radiant Shield burning white hot as she heaved breaths, hacking up blood and standing on wobbly legs. In spite of her condition, however, fury began to overtake her. She'd been toyed with long enough, and the idea of the hedgehog stealing from her again what he had once, and going above and beyond that, only served to stoke the flames.

"If you want to see what I'm made of Abaddon, then I'm going to take a great lot of satisfaction out of beating your ass!" she snapped, ripping the Steel Saber from its sheathe.

A new glow engulfed her in less than an instant. At first she was stunned, unsure of what to make of her new predicament. Had she been caught in another trap, another ploy by her opponent? As a comforting warmth washed over her, and the pain faded from her wounds, that seemed more than unlikely. She could feel energy pouring into every fiber of her being. Her breathing grew easier and her strength returned, and she felt a sense of completion wash over her.

The light faded as quickly as it went, and Rouge stood, dressed not in individually colored and designed pieces of armor, but a single uniform set, tempered steel polished to a mirror-like sheen wrapping over her arms, legs, chest and around her head, decorated in patterns laid with gold, platinum and onyx. The Radiant Shield was decorated in a cascade of jewels of every color and origin imaginable, common and rare, spiraling rings displaying an image of the darkest night fading to brilliant blue sky cradling a crystalline sun splayed out over the surface of the shield. The Steel Saber in the opposing hand retained much of its simple décor, adorned with only a few licks of gold around the guard, but shone as if new. The amazement only furthered as she touched herself where she had been run through by the shadow, and in the places it had pierced her elsewhere. Healed, her wounds were completely gone, though she had no explanation as to why.

Explanations would have to wait as she felt the world rock, turning her eyes forward to where she'd blasted Abaddon. Spreading her wings, she took off, soaring faster than ever in her life. She'd barely felt as though she'd taken off before landing atop a hill nearby, the wonder of the armor she now donned fading in the horror of the image she now faced.

Lying before her were the ruins of the Marble Zone, a labyrinthine set of ruins flooded with molten lava, a death trap to many foolhardy adventurers. Shadows crept in thin tendrils over the land, seeking to overtake whatever they could as Abaddon raged amidst its rubble, hovering in place as his eyes locked on Rouge.

"_**So you've completed the armor! It makes no difference!"**_ he snapped, far more furious than he ought have been if just words alone were indication of anything. _**"You still have no chance of defeating me!"**_

Rouge narrowed her eyes, adjusting her grip upon her weapons as she took to the air again, the single beat of her wings enough to propel her the distance as she landed atop what should have been magma, instead cooling to blackened stone beneath her feet, staring down Abaddon.

"_**What? Some heroic speech or some nonsense like that?"**_ Abaddon snapped, grinning, more nervously than he should have.

"No." Rouge said flatly, staring dead into his eyes as fire erupted from the magma, wrapping around the saber in her hand. "I just wanted a good look at you before I kick your ass."

_Why is he so unnerved?_ Rouge thought, watching the hedgehog snarl at her as she brought the shield up between them, her eyes trained on her foe. _They said the armor would just be a match for him, nothing about winning, what's going on?_

She wasted no more time thinking about it as she leapt up, shadows crashing down and closing in from every direction, consuming the land she'd been standing upon before. The taunting was gone, the cockiness and confidence. She was now faced with what looked to be a very serious, very fearful, and very desperate opponent.

That was the worst possible kind she could imagine as she lunged down, slamming the Steel Saber into the earth as Abaddon vanished into wisps of darkness. Flames erupted for yards around her, the lava coming to a rapid boil before she ripped the weapon from the ground and stood up.

"_He's behind you."_

She didn't know whose voice it was, but she complied off of a reflex, spinning about just in time to parry a blow with her shield intent on taking her head off. She dug into the ground as raw power ripped from the blow and blew out around her on all sides. Abaddon stood before her, eyes wide as his claw reared back once again, preparing the same kind of attack as he lunged ahead.

Rouge sniffed hard, stamping a foot down, causing pillars of earth to erupt all around her from the ground, flying at the maddened hedgehog. He dispatched them about as easily as she expected, swinging his clawed arm through them and reducing them to so much dust and rubble. Rouge capitalized on his focus, manipulating the air into a fierce gale that blew the debris into his face, eliciting a howl of pain and frustration as the pieces made their way into his eyes. Every element bent to her whim, as if it were second nature to her. She had to ponder just how much of a role the armor played in that as she continued on with her assault on the maddened hedgehog.

"_**You little bitch!"**_ Abaddon roared, his fury echoing through the zone of ruins as Rouge charged forward, drawing her leg back and swinging, catching water vapor through the air and forming it into a liquid blade on the Sea Greaves, intent on severing Abaddon's head from his shoulders. He countered instead, another hand lurching out from the shoulder where his darkness claw was, grasping the leg and stopping its motion dead before flinging her down. He forced his eyes open, locking onto Rouge as she flew back. His unclad arm thrust up, and darkness spiraled up from the ground in spears and arrows. The bat was off balance, there was no way for her to avoid, she'd most certainly be run through.

The darkness stopped scant inches from her body, instead shaping and weaving itself into a cushion she landed harmlessly on.

Rouge sat upright, as baffled as her foe as she looked around. It had stopped completely, none of darkness moved against her. She staggered to her feet, looking up to Abaddon, seeing his rage begin to mount further. He looked more than a little unnerved.

"_It won't hold like this forever!"_ she heard the voice again. _"Get out of the way!"_

"Just who are you?" Rouge demanded, looking around as she tried to discover the source of the voice. No response; was she losing her mind? She couldn't even take the time to ponder that as she felt a shift beneath her feet. Heeding the words of the voice, she spread her wings and tore off, just barely evading as the swirl of shadowy attacks resumed and blew skyward. One thing proved certain; although she'd no idea what or who the identity of the voice was, it was beneficial to her. She wouldn't chase it out so long as it stayed that way.

It was time to go on the offensive again, and Rouge did so with force. She began to focus upon the Flame Pendant and Radiant Shield, feeling their strength renewed in full with thanks to the completion of the armor, and turned the shield at Abaddon. A pillar of white flames erupted, burning through the air and darkness lingering from the dark god's attack. He evaded, rolling off to the side and charging her as energy crackled about his body, no doubt preparation for an attack of his own. Rouge would see that never come to pass as she drew her saber back, resonating with the Gale Helmet as she cut off the attack from the shield, and slashed. A blade of wind tore through the air, too quickly for Abaddon to turn or veer, and slammed dead into his chest.

If the slicing pain wasn't enough, the impact amplified it by knocking the wind right from his lungs. Rouge watched as he veered by, blood now pouring down his body from a deep set gash across his torso, and crashed in a heap to the ground.

_This is too easy._ She thought to herself. _He's a god now, shouldn't he be putting up more of a fight than a dead charge?_

Her answer came an instant later as a flash blinked around him. She had to bring the shield up to serve the purpose of its design for a change as power ripped through the area, in less than a second decimating the place he'd landed. The sheer force of the unleashed power left her struggling to hold her place in the air. She guarded against the buffeting energies with the shield as her wings beat furiously. She was doing well to hold her ground, and even began to make gains towards him. As he seemed, just crouched there, pouring out energy recklessly, it should have left him vulnerable.

She instead was greeted by a blow to the head that rocked the world around her, sending her spinning through the air. She crashed through countless objects made of stone and wood, she swore that she heard chains snap before she came to a halt, flat in a crater as rubble and stone thundered behind her, splashing into something wet, and hot.

As Rouge's senses returned to her, she found herself gazing into a pool of magma, her body half lain out over the edge of the marble walkway she'd been driven into.

Instinct jolted her senses to life before she was ready, and she pushed off and rolled to the side as an entire form of darkness crashed down, engulfing the path and sinking it into the molten stuff where she'd been but a second ago. She rolled up to her feet, staggering backwards as she fought to regain her balance, watching the figure whip in her direction and dive at her, unleashing such power that just by her close proximity she was flung back into a wall, her body embedding itself into it with a grunt before it came before her, driving a knee up into her gut and under her ribs. Rouge heaved blood up as several snaps became audible, echoing through her body into her ears as she struggled to breath from a sharp pain in that same area. Her entire body came alight with worse pain as she felt darkness literally begin to spark off of her and wrap around her in bolts, as if she were being treated to a high grade electrical shock. Any scream she'd have made off of sheer reflex was silenced as one of the hands of the creature slammed into her face, digging her head further back into the stone, her body convulsing and shuddering as the assault continued.

"_**What will you do now, you bitch?"**_ Abaddon's voice snapped over the ringing building in her ears. _**"How do you intend to help her now?"**_

_W, what's he talking about?_ She thought, her body seizing up as the shock grew. She could feel herself beginning to lapse in and out of consciousness from the pain. The armor was barely damaged, but her mortal body wrapped in the shell of worldly power was vulnerable beneath. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.

It all stopped suddenly as she heard a grunt from the creature. Her eyes opened, and she watched him stagger back, clutching his side as blood poured from it before darkness closed around a wound, the same darkness that now engulfed his entire body. She could see clearly what he'd done, as both arms now encased in the claw he'd worn alone on the one before, his feet shaped into wicked talons like some macabre bird's. The already wild spikes formed of the pins and needles along his back and head were now jagged and sharp, sporting lethal points at their tips and thorn-like growths around the sides. He looked as much a monster now as his actions made him to be, though she hardly assumed this to be an involuntary transformation. She got a surprise from her own end as well, her eyes widening considerably as she beheld the Shadow Cape sticking out from her side, twisted into a spear head shape drenched in his blood, holding for just a second longer before it fell and brushed flat at her back again.

_I didn't do that..._ she thought, turning her eyes back to Abaddon. She crouched low and sprang up, just as his claws thrust at her, smashing into the wall and obliterating it. She couldn't afford herself the time to think about this, she'd already established something was working in her favor. Abaddon's power, or at least his control over what he stole, was growing, exemplified as every shadow on the wall behind her, including her own, lurched out and reached for her. She spun quickly, slicing through them with the Steel Saber and distancing herself, watching as they burned into wisps and disappeared as smoke. She raised the Radiant Shield, letting off a short burst of light that urged Abaddon to jump into the air, as the Flame Pendant willed the fires of the lava beneath them to unleash a barrage of spears. He spun rapidly into a blur, reducing the assault to harmless sparks raining down onto the stone.

Rouge closed in as he was occupied with that, slamming onto the ground and unleashing a gust of wind that stalled his motion and threatened to throw him off balance. Raising her leg, she kicked against his rotation, halting him dead with the impact, and with another push behind her leg, throwing him down the path, following in pursuit with saber raised. He flipped about, slamming down on all fours, cutting into the floor with claws and talons before raising his head and bellowing a roar from a mouth filled with nightmarish fangs. Rouge halted, dropping to one knee and raising the shield as the roar blew past her, reducing the marble walls and floors to rubble, causing the lava around them to bubble, spit and erupt.

The nightmarish God closed in, slamming his whole body against her shield and bouncing her up into the air. A quick kick up was all that kept one of his claws from impaling her, the same leg coming down preventing the second one from running through her chest and giving her the momentum to flip back in the air, landing crouched before returning the tackle in her wholly capable force, the Gaia Gauntlets lending their support as a wall of stone shot up and conformed to the shape of her body, adding to the weight behind the already forceful blow. Just touching the dark form pierced through the rock, but the damage was done as he staggered back. Rouge discarded the stone shell, stepping up and pirouetting on one foot, her sword bearing arm drawn across her chest until she faced him, using the added momentum of her spin to deliver a devastating slash across his chest that earned a thunderous roar of pain. Halting herself, she reared her shield bearing arm back and slammed it into his chest where the open wound set, reaching out with the other arm and hooking the blunt of her blade behind his neck, holding him against it as she unleashed another quick, but still powerful burst, blasting his body back, whipping his head down and slamming it against the face of the shield before he tumbled back with his body. She charged again, watching him lay prone and in agony, springing up and diving back down at him, leading with the saber as the Light-aligned elemental pieces poured their power into it. She would end the fight, run him straight through the head. She reared back as she came down, her eyes wide and fixated on him.

At the very last possible second, everything stopped, and she knew only pain.

Rouge was held fast in the air, gurgling wide-eyed as she was suspended off of spikes of darkness penetrating through her arms and legs, through her chest and throat. The armor and her body were riddled with holes as she hung there, clinging to life. Her eyes shifted, her vision jarred as she hacked blood up, resettling on the source of what she had been trapped upon.

His spines, a hedgehog's spines entwined with shadow and darkness. She watched his body heave and shudder, though not quite so much in pain anymore as in soft laughter that gradually grew louder. He pushed himself up, his spines retracting with lightning speed as the darkness shrank back into his body. Rouge collapsed, the armor clanking against the ground as she hit, blood beginning to pour from the wounds as she gasped for breath.

"_**What now?"**_ he roared with confidence as he strode towards her, crouching down and grasping her by the helmet, hauling her to sit up, earning another wince of pain as he reared a hand back. _**"What will you do now, Havoc?"**_

Rouge's eyes widened at the name, long before the pain. Long before she felt something pierce through her chest and out her back. She held there, still, barely breathing as she turned her eyes down, watching blood pour from the gaping hole left in her chest, where Abaddon's arm stuck through her. More blood trickled out her mouth as she began to lose sensation in her body, her vision blurred, her hearing faded. She would be dead in a matter of seconds.

_I should at least take him with me..._ she thought, her body growing lax on her. _But why... why can't I move...?_

"_**This is the end."**_ Abaddon said, a dark chuckle behind his voice. Rouge could feel him begin to withdraw his arm. He'd get away, there would be nothing she could do after that. He would get away with his horrible crimes and set out to commit more, more people would suffer as she did, as Shadow, as Havoc.

_No, no, no, this isn't right!_ She grit her teeth, squeezing her eyes shut. _I can't have done all this for nothing! There's got to be something I can do, anything!_

"_And you used to be so selfish..."_ the voice said again, however Rouge now had a name for it, her eyes forcing themselves open against the weariness that had begun to set in. _"Alright, bat... let me take the helm."_

Her arms came to life without her consent, shooting up and grasping Abaddon's own.

"_**W, what the?"**_ he stammered, surprise clear in his eyes, and only growing as her grip tightened, holding it fast.

"What's wrong, Abaddon?" her lips moved, speaking in her voice, but not her words. She felt something rush through her, drawing off of his arm in spite of his protests. Her eyes snapped open, her vision as sharp as it had ever been, her hearing the most acute it had ever been. She squeezed tighter, this time throwing his arm back as the darkness remained, filling the wound, actually seeming to reshape into something physical, a temporary fix at it stitched her wound together as it had been before the hedgehog impaled her. "Haven't quite got a grasp on my power yet? Don't worry, _I_ do."

"_How are you doing this?"_ Rouge tried to speak, though the words progressing little further than thoughts.

"_You know that cape on your back that I created? I gambled and imbued a portion of my consciousness in here. I was able to communicate with you briefly before the armor was whole. With the armor acting in unison, I was able to make small actions, though your soul has been dominant. Now, however..."_

"_Because I'm dying?"_

There was a pause.

"_... Because you're dying, I was able to force my consciousness over yours... It won't last long though, we have to end this quickly."_

"_And if this gamble hadn't worked?"_

"_You'd already be dead."_

Rouge would have rolled her eyes if she could manage. _"This sounds like some awful twist in a movie... but I can't say I'm ungrateful."_

Rouge felt her body shift as she rose to her feet. The armor hummed to life as if a machine, a glow engulfing her entirely, leaving her little more than a silhouette within the light.

"_Just lend me your body. I won't last longer than this anyways."_

"_What about his and your powers, can't you do anything?"_

"_No, not without direct contact like we had there, and even then, I caught him off guard. I doubt we'll be so lucky twice."_

"_**So you hid yourself in that little wretch..."**_ Abaddon hissed with fury, the darkness beginning to flare about him. _**"No matter... One worthless woman's mind in another worthless woman's body still amounts to nothing."**_

"Tell me." Havoc said through Rouge, twirling the Steel Saber nimbly between her fingers as she began to walk forward slowly, the pain in every step real, but not fazing the goddess in the mortal shell in the slightest. "Do you know what the difference between the two of us is?"

"_**Tell me after I kill you!"**_ Abaddon snapped, rearing both claws back and thrusting them forward. They stretched and shot out at the two of them, turning wide at the last moment and circling around them. They clasped together, and snapped closed around them, catching them fast as he began to apply a crushing pressure.

"Experience." Havoc muttered, her own voice leaking through Rouge's mouth for that one utterance as she stood with the weapons pinned at her sides. The glow that had engulfed her body erupted out, shredding the darkness around her.

The next thing Rouge knew, she had a fist buried deep into Abaddon's solar plexus, the Steel Saber clutched in the same hand that bore the Radiant Shield. Before he could react, her fist drew back and her elbow flew up, catching him in the jaw and sending him spinning. She pursued, slamming the shield into his back and hooking her arm around his torso, pulling back with all the strength her shared body could draw from the armor.

"_**L, let go of me!"**_ Abaddon growled, in clear pain. His spikes reared back and lunged for her, intent on running her through the head.

The Shadow Cape whipped up between them and absorbed them with little more than ripples in the fabric to show for it.

"What's wrong, lover?" Havoc said bitterly. "Don't like it rough?"

"_**I'll kill you!"**_

"A repeat act? How boring. Let me show you something new." She heaved up suddenly, lifting him off the ground, bracing her legs against the stone.

"_I'm going to need to borrow from what you have left, Rouge."_ Havoc said to her.

"_It's not like I'm looking at any options, am I?"_

Their lips curved into a mutual smirk before Havoc took the reins again.

"Let's review what we learned earlier about Light and Darkness." she growled, the Shadow Cape whipping back, knocking Abaddon's head to the spike as it freed up his spikes before covering the shield. "The only thing that can come from that union is pure Chaos!"

The Radiant Shield burned bright, and the Shadow Cape grew, swelling from the darkness around them. A blast shot into the cape, and was swallowed wholly. It rippled violently before swallowing the both of them, and vanishing completely from sight.

* * *

The scenery changed again so quickly Rouge was barely able to keep up with it, though Havoc's consciousness did well to as they reappeared far and away from the ruins on South Island. They now hovered over Angel Island, the Shadow Cape swirling through the air as they were spat from its dark reaches.

There was only one direction to go from there. As they began to plummet to the ground, Rouge's wings beat faster and faster and faster, until the massive mountain, the volcano, came upon them, and the combatants plowed into its base, digging deep into the earth. A moment later, Rouge's body re-emerged, bounding for the wood line in the distance.

"_What are you doing? We have a fight on our hands and you're running!"_

"_The armor can't conjure up the elements, Rouge!"_ Havoc replied. _"Angel Island has the widest variety of environments in a small place than any other region on the planet. To use the armor to its full potential we have to utilize them all. The best place to do this is at the edge of the island where all eight elements are present."_

"_What about right here?"_

"_When you see a ready and large source of water, then by all means let me know!"_

The debate ended abruptly as several wiry limbs shot out of the ground, reaching and clawing for them both. A quick step off put them in the air as the limbs swung for them, and as Rouge's wings spread, Abaddon burst from the ground, the limbs retracting and reforming into the two dark claws that had swallowed his arms. Havoc spun Rouge's body around and pointed the Steel Saber at him, the pendant about her neck lighting with a familiar fiery glow. She struck one of the gauntlets against the steel, creating a spark that held over the tip, and began to erupt with countless fireballs aimed at him as he simply snuffed them out with strike after strike.

"_**I'm going to tear the two of you apart!"**_ he thundered, his body shuddering with power as he pursued them. Drawing his hands back swiftly, he threw them forward at them just as quickly.

Rouge's body drew up its guard, but the claws he had thrown at them so many times never came. They did, however, find an added difficulty in movement as every inch of the bat's body began to stiffen. Suddenly it became a fight in itself just to move, their flight towards the island's end growing sluggish.

Abaddon was on them in an instant, grasping onto them as lines became visible all across Rouge's body, wrapping and restraining them, working to draw her limbs together and shut her movement down entirely. The very shadows that were cast upon her body by the trees beneath daylight above were working in favor of the new god of darkness. He veered down sharply, slamming them into the earth and dragging them through it, going as far as to barrel through trees and shatter stone boulders with them as his battering ram.

"_Hold on, this is going to cost us a fair bit of power!"_ Havoc warned, leaving no room for debate or objection as the confines of the shadows grew, beginning to fracture bits of the armor as if it were a nut in a cracker. Even as Havoc prepared her counter, spikes were growing within, working to penetrate the armor, and already pressing into the makeshift bandage for the mortal wound she'd received. Rouge's body suddenly began to twist and arch, as the shadows being used against her began to creep toward the injury. Not only did they draw nearer, but as they came in contact, they were drawn into it. In spite of this, all of Havoc's efforts succeeded in only withholding the spikes from growing further.

All at once, the darkness erupted outward, blowing back into Abaddon's face and thrusting Rouge and Havoc deep into the earth. The two of them took to the ground, turning and utilizing the Gaia Gauntlets' power to cleave through the earth, creating a tunnel with the ease one would shred paper, continuing on in such a manner for several minutes before finally surfacing.

The fresh air hit Rouge's face like she hadn't breathed in decades; her weary body half-crawled from the hole on hands and knees, panting with exertion as she tried to collect herself.

"_Havoc... Havoc, what now?"_ Rouge asked, looking to massive waterfall, nestled at the end of a grove of palm trees and surrounded by rocky outcroppings. Old burns marred some areas of the jungle area, and bits of scrap and junk were collected in one area that had been ultimately killed off by what had caused those same burns. Strategically speaking, the area was ideal for the use of the armor. There was silence, lasting for a moment as Rouge took in the rest of her surroundings before prodded again. _"Havoc?"_

"_I'm sorry, Rouge."_ Havoc responded, the voice in her head sounding strained. _"I can't help you from here more than I already am."_

"_What do you mean? Havoc, you're the goddess here, you know more about this armor than I do!"_

"_Talking to you is already pushing it... I'm too weak now from that escape. It's all that I can do to maintain the shape of the patch in your wound. You'd have just a few seconds if I dropped that, and I have only a moment or two longer."_ They both fell silence as the ground quaked, birds screeched and the trees shuddered. _"He's coming... Throw everything you have at him, don't hold anything back. I'll buy you what time I can, but I'm afraid one way or the other, this is the end for each of us."_

Rouge stood in control of her body again, a full wave of the weakness that had coursed through her body the whole time hitting her head on. It was all she could do not to collapse to her knees as she clutched the wound in her chest, breathing heavily. _This is what Havoc was fighting with? She really is dead set on beating him..._

She squeezed her eyes shut, beginning to focus on the environment around her. Everything she had, that was what Havoc instructed. She couldn't afford the chance of offering anything less. As she began to feel the power of the elemental armor seep into her, the pain receded to a far more tolerable level, though by no means vanished. As if guided by a baser instinct, Rouge raised her arms out to her sides, the surrounding area beginning to shift around her as entire portions of it moved at her. It began to resonate with the glow that built around her.

Something feeling akin to a fire truck slammed full force into her chest and blew her into the grove, through the waterfall and into the rock face behind it. The pressure only grew as she cried out in pain, feeling as if hot pokers shot through her arms and shoulders and proceeded to dig in.

Her eyes opened to Abaddon, seething in raw fury.

"_**You're dead, dead, DEAD!"**_ he screamed. Rouge's world came alight with pain again as the darkness fired through her being like electricity, causing her to jerk and twist against his grip as her entire body shuddered in agony. _**"I'll take you and Havoc down for good!"**_

"Get... off... me!" Rouge slid her feet up, planting them against the stone. In spite of the searing pain, she thrust herself forward, tearing the new wounds deeper as she lunged at him, slamming the Gale Helmet square into Abaddon's face, whipping his head back and forcing him to release her. She twisted one of her arms and dug her fingers behind her shield into the rock face, gasping as the pain alleviated from her body. Allowing herself only that second to take relief, she put to use the Sea Greaves' powers, willing the waterfall to freeze in whole blocks and launch at him. Each one hit him, driving him back through the air and slamming him to the ground.

Rouge followed after, kicking off the wall and diving through the falls as she lunged at Abaddon, drawing the saber back over her head and slashing down in an attempt to cleave him in half. Abaddon was quick to his feet however, and caught her weapon at the wrist. He took his free hand and pulled back, a writhing mass of darkness swelling wildly around it as he attempted a counterattack, only to be blocked by the Radiant Shield. The two held fast, deadlocked as they pushed against each other. As darkness pooled around Abaddon and grew, seeming to threaten to swallow all things behind him, the world behind Rouge came alight with her armor. The water behind her rippled with life, trees shuddered, the earth beneath her feet quaked, even light and darkness' already stark differences seemed to grow further as shadows became pitch black and beams of sunlight poured down from the skies above, nearly blinding even with the bat woman's back turned to it.

"_**So, this is what it comes down to?"**_ Abaddon sneered, leaning forward into the attack even further. _**"A god against weapons forged by gods. Little good it'll do a wielder who's already half dead though!"**_

"Shut up!" Rouge hissed, leaning further in herself, her head meeting Abaddon's as she glared directly into his eyes. "You're just a cheap mockery, 'God' my ass!"

"_**What'll it matter anyways?"**_ he gloated. _**"You have maybe seconds left now, and when you finally perish, I'll strip your feeble body of the armor and make it my own! The Chaos Emeralds will come next to finalize my place! I'll be unstoppable!"**_

Rouge grit her teeth, feeling her legs beginning to buckle. He was right, she didn't have long left. It would only be a matter of seconds before her body gave way under the stress of his attack. She had to act fast, do something to take her opponent down before she went.

Her mind drifted back to Igneous' words before she was spirited away with Havoc and Abaddon, and her answer came to her. It would be an insane gamble, at best, but it was also her best bet. She didn't have the strength to outright defeat him, she'd have to play on risk and hope for the best.

Rouge let her shield bearing arm fall back, the force of the attack Abaddon had been bearing down on her so great it tore through the breastplate and blew shards and shrapnel from the shield. The bat woman would have screamed were she not so focused on her goal. Grasping the Chaos Emerald from where she stowed it, she reached forward and slammed it into the dark shadows wrapped around her opponent's chest.

Almost immediately there was a reaction. Abaddon howled in agony as energy crackled around him, halting all of his attacks, releasing Rouge's wrist and giving her the chance to bound back and away, landing atop the surface of the water behind her.

"_**W, what've you done?"**_ he howled, the emerald set in the darkness flashing rapidly as if threatening something. He made an attempt to reach for it, but the sheer force around it blew it back. _**"I... I can't control it!"**_

"_Rouge, are you mad?"_ Havoc's alarmed voice rang in her head. _"Do you know what's going to happen?"_

"I've got a guess." She rasped, heaving as the pain began to overwhelm her again. "How bad are we talking here?"

"_Oh, nothing _terribly_ serious, if you manage with minimal damage only a whole _quarter of Angel Island_ will be blown away!"_

"Damn it!" Rouge leapt up, spreading her wings and erupting in a burst of speed granted by a gust thrown out by the Gale Helmet. She full-on tackled into Abaddon, the force sweeping him off his feet as she wrapped her arms around him and flew at full speed towards the island's edge, barely visible through the thick of the trees and brush. Little was offered in the way of maneuvering, as it was all she could do to push the added agony of the searing chaotic energies she'd thrown herself against. Anything that lacked a breath of life in it she barreled through with only the regard for time in her mind.

As the edge of the island came in sight, she shrieked in pain, feeling something pierce through her back and out her chest. Her mouth gaped as she saw claws and blood pouring from fresh wounds. The strength left her wings and they both crashed down, rolling over each other along the ground completely out of control.

They both reached the edge of the island and went over.

Rouge could feel the life bleeding out of her. She tried to call upon Havoc's voice again, but was greeted by little more than silence. She could feel the wind not only rushing around, but through her as she plummeted to the sea below. There was no chance left now. If she didn't succumb to her wounds, the force of crashing into the water thousands of feet below would do her in.

_Saving the world again..._ she thought, watching Abaddon writhe and scream as the shadows around him lashed wildly, and the glow of the Chaos Emerald continued to grow, consuming his image as it prepared to unleash its terrible force. _I guess that this the last run with those guys... Oh, Shadow, the things I wish I could've said before the end..._

The glow grew further and the sea grew closer with each second. She felt her vision fading as the winds buffeted her body. She could have sworn she heard something faint in the distance, and saw a shadow moving closer over the expanse of the sea.

The last thing she felt as she closed her eyes and gave herself to the embrace of death was a soft thump.

* * *

Rouge awoke slowly to the sounds of beeps and machines all around her. White walls and white lights surrounded her, offset by a powder blue curtain hanging out of a track across the ceiling. She tried to move, and for her efforts received pain.

_Pain..._ she thought, her mind slowly coming to grips with her situation. Pain was not necessarily something she wished to experience on a regular basis, but it brought her towards a conclusion, finalized as she saw a figure rush over her.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" a woman dressed in a white cap and gown asked her. Rouge's lips managed a tired groan, but relief began to set in her mind as the realization set onto her, that by some act, most likely of those same Gods who they had been dealing with for several weeks now, she was alive.

* * *

"It was amazing." Amy Rose said, wounds of a much less serious degree than Rouge's own dressed in bandages and wrappings partly concealed under a new summer dress. "We didn't know what happened to you, then Radiance told us you beat back Abaddon all by yourself with that crazy armor."

"How long've I been out?" She asked, the grogginess set in by a clearly long sleep and many doses of what she believed to be anesthetic still in the process of shaking off. The paper gown this time did little to conceal the extent of the injuries that stretched over the whole of her body.

"A couple weeks." Sonic said, leaning over on his knees, hands clasped together between his legs.

"Your arm was badly burned." Tails said from the side, sitting with his hands in his lap. "There was a deep wound in your chest, too, it nearly penetrated to your lungs. The doctors were amazed it healed without a scar, and so fast, too."

'_Fell short'?_ she thought, bewilderment overtaking her. _That can't be right, he ran his arm through me..._

"Probably those Gods to thank for that." Sonic said with a smirk.

"What happened to the armor?" Knuckles asked, standing beside the only window in the room, arms folded over his chest.

"I don't know." She replied, shaking her head. "The last thing I remember was falling towards the sea with Abaddon and... then I'm here."

"Doubt we've got much to worry about from him anymore." Knuckles muttered, though his tone seemed more than a bit sore.

"What's _your_ problem?" Rouge muttered, following up on her observation without hesitation.

"Abaddon... blew up." Tails remarked with an awkward smile.

"Okay... and?"

"We're not sure exactly what happened, but when Knuckles got back, the Master Emerald was in pieces again, and there was a Chaos Emerald lying there. It looked like it was shot through the island, and..."

"I spent three days finding all the pieces and putting them back together." His tone was as flat as it could have possibly been.

_Is this just a bad running gag for this guy or what?_ Rouge thought, unable to hide a smirk. She looked to Tails again, shifting as much as her injuries would allow. "How's Cream doing?"

"She's at home with her mother." He responded, more than a little happily. "The repairs on the house are almost done, Gemerl's been going at it near nonstop. Sonic and I pitched on too, it's looking better than ever."

"You're so sweet, Sonic." Amy managed with a giggle, leaning towards him. Reflexively, the hedgehog shied away, though he didn't try to wrest his arm free of hers as they encircled it. Rouge would have grilled him a little on the awkward smile he wore if she were a little more active.

_Still, there are so many unanswered questions._ She thought, her eyes fixed on her bedsheets. She watched them rustle at the edges as a breeze blew through the room, the rods supporting the curtain next to her clattering as it picked up.

"Knuckles, close the window." Amy said, borderline scolding him.

"What are you talking about?" Knuckles puzzled over her remark, gesturing to it with a hand as Rouge saw when she looked up. The window was shut tight.

"_**Sorry 'bout that, but a girl's gotta get around somehow." **_Said an all too familiar voice. Every head in the room immediately turned to the door, watching it close as Mistral leaned back on it, an impish smile on her lips. _**"Sort of goes with my element. You should see it when I'm mad."**_

"Y, you're the wind goddess!" Tails exclaimed.

"_**Hey, hey, keep it down, Tails."**_ She said with a grin, leaning back on the door. _**"I am, and the name's Mistral, thanks. We all got wind of your awakening, so I came to check up."**_

"Touched." Rouge responded, raising an eyebrow. "I'm fine, but I hardly think a god of any sort would come down to visit me just for a check-up."

"_**Well, I did."**_ She stated matter-of-factly, her smile turning awkward only a moment later. _**"At least that was the original intent 'til Radiance lumped some extra stuff onto me."**_

"Uh-huh." Rouge said with a smile. "So what do they need?"

"_**For starters, a large thanks for everything to all of you guys. You're the first mortals in a long time to prove worthy of the armor... And to top it all off, you kicked that creep's teeth in."**_ She seemed to put special emphasis on the word chosen to identify Abaddon. _**"You all could've just packed up and left, but you didn't... We appreciate that, really."**_

"Hey, it's a hero thing." Sonic said, his usual cockiness showing through his smirk.

"_**And you're all well known for it."**_ Mistral responded with a giggle.

"What exactly happened to the armor though?" Knuckles asked, shooting straight to the point as he eyed the fox goddess.

"_**It's being repaired. Once that's said and done, we're going to scatter them across the planet again in new locations. Tsunami and Pyro are going to lock theirs down more securely this time, I hope."**_

"You're not destroying that stuff?" Amy Rose exclaimed in clear protest as she shot up from her seat, gaping at the goddess. "What if something like this happens again?"

"_**It's no different than the Chaos Emeralds or rings."**_ Mistral said, her arms folding across her chest as she took on a more thoughtful expression. _**"In the end, they're weapons. They don't choose who to fire at, the ones who wield them do. For better or worse, they exist, and they still showed their worth when Rouge fought Abaddon, so our father has decided to keep them."**_ Her expression lightened up a little bit. _**"But you won't be seeing them again in your lifetime, maybe not even your children's. They'll fade to black again until someone else decides to go chasing ghosts of the past... and I doubt they'll be like you guys when they do."**_

"Moving on from that..." Rouge said in an attempt to divert attention from a topic that would no doubt be a source of endless debate. "What happened to Havoc?"

The silence that permeated the room was palpable.

"_**She's, uh..."**_ Mistral turned her eyes down, the smile that now was set on her lips more forced than anything. _**"She's gone... It was just like we all feared. Everything Abaddon got went with him, there wasn't even a trace of her left behind."**_

"Oh..." Rouge muttered, all she could really manage as she gazed down at her sheets.

"_**Yeah... Radiance took it the hardest, and she's become really reclusive."**_ Mistral folded her arms across her chest. _**"She's also taken up Havoc's domain while our father works to create a new sibling for us to take over."**_

"That sounds... that's just so cold..." Tails muttered, his expression crestfallen.

"_**It's the nature of things though."**_ Mistral said, the playfulness departed completely from her, her identity as a goddess millennia old showing in her expression as she looked around the room. _**"A balance has to be maintained, or the world would fall apart. The darkness would either go out of control or fade completely, either consuming the world or leaving no reprieve from the light. I could get metaphoric too, but, that's Radiance's bit anyways."**_

"Will you all be alright?" Knuckles asked, his arms falling to his sides. Rouge had the same question on her mind, and it was clear that Amy, Sonic and Tails did as well.

Mistral only smiled tearfully as she reached up and brushed her eyes.

"_**The wounds are still fresh... But we'll carry on, and greet our new sibling with love. We won't ever forget Havoc, but she's gone for good. Trying to recreate her would just be an insult, and, believe me, we considered that... This is the best road to take."**_ Mistral took a breath, seemingly done with that as she rose off the door, stepping forward toward's Rouge's bed. _**"If I could speak to Rouge privately, though? I've got something sort of for her ears only."**_

The other four glanced around, looking between each other before their eyes ultimately fell upon Rouge. Rouge stared back, before smiling wearily.

"Just go, you boneheads, I'll see you in a minute." Rouge said. That seemed to satisfy them as Sonic chuckled, and Knuckles even grinned. They turned and left the room at that moment, the door shutting behind them. The bat woman's attention turned back to Mistral as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. "You know Tails likes you, right?"

"_**Wouldn't work out."**_ Mistral said with a smirk. _**"He'll find a nice girl someday and live out his days with her. Maybe a pop star or something, I dunno."**_

"You're kidding, right?" Rouge said, grinning.

"_**Crazy world we live in."**_ Mistral returned readily. _**"But this isn't too far off topic from one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Particularly about a certain dark, brooding hedgehog..."**_

Rouge narrowed her eyes. Suddenly the conversation wasn't as entertaining as before.

"_**Oh, don't get defensive on me, or at least save it for after the important part."**_ Mistral's expression grew serious again. _**"Havoc communicated with you during the last battle, didn't she?"**_

"... She did." Rouge said, somehow unsurprised. "She piloted me through a lot of it."

"_**Figured... It felt like I just missed her presence when I caught you."**_

"That was you?"

"_**Well we all may be capable of flight, but I **_**am**_** the Goddess of the Wind. I get a little speed boost, thank you, and you needed a pick-me-up."**_

"Makes sense enough." Rouge said softly, sighing and clasping her hands together. "I wish I could tell you she said something to you guys, but we were pretty involved in the fight..."

"_**I figured."**_ Mistral said, reaching out and setting a hand on Rouge's. _**"Havoc was kind of that way. She was the oldest, so she bore the most responsibility... I'm glad she was able to help you in the end."**_

"Yeah..." Rouge muttered. "I don't get how she even did it... Guess that goes with God territories, huh?"

"_**Well, there's a process, but, the details aren't important."**_ Mistral said. _**"... Beyond all the business too, I think she respected you."**_

"You're joking." Rouge said as flat as possible.

"_**I'm not laughing."**_ Mistral responded with a smile to counter it. _**"Maybe since you're a bat and already so close to her domain anyways, maybe because you worked so damned hard to see your lover boy was safe... Hell, maybe she liked your sense of humor, I don't know. She liked you, for whatever reason, and you gave her some hope. Your friends there certainly did too when they started helping out. You're all real heroes for your generation, so don't take it lightly."**_

"Honey, I'm just a girl who loves jewels and knows her way around a security system." Rouge responded. "It's all just a nice coincidence."

"_**And Shadow?"**_

Rouge was left without a response for that.

"_**Now that all the emotional burn out is over, let me give you some advice."**_ Mistral smirked. _**"Since you love him, I mean."**_

There was the blood flow to her cheeks, Rouge was apparently healthy enough to blush.

"Shadow's got his own agenda." Rouge said, closing her eyes. "I'll support him, and wait for when he needs me. Until then, he knows where I am... Until we cross paths doing something."

Mistral shook her head, rising off of the bed and walking towards the window as the breeze began to pick up in the room again. The smile broadened on her lips.

"_**Don't let him slip away from you, Rouge. You nearly lost him twice, don't go for that third time charm."  


* * *

**_

Several weeks later, Rouge stood dressed in her violet and pink bodysuit, the defense systems in the building she'd infiltrated completely shot. A few security guards had to be silenced along the way, but she made sure they'd awaken with little more than a headache after delivering a few solid blows to bring them down. The target was a mogul who had been known for illegally acquiring multiple rare commodities over the years, in large from black market dealers, and in some cases people who had conveniently been recently deceased. It wasn't anything special, gather evidence and fall out, a few photographs here, several obviously illegal documents there. The man was big enough to irritate the government, but only just; still small fry in her books.

Rouge's real intent had been set on the silver gem, cut to picture perfection, resting on a cushioned mantle inside of a glass cased pedestal fixed in the middle of a room at the end of a long, now completely unguarded and unsecure hallway. A Chaos Emerald, glorified as it ought to be, as the most beautiful, and most amazing piece in the entire place. A natural wonder of limitless power contained in a mineral shell.

She resolved it would be hers, a bonus for an otherwise dull job. She drew a glass cutter from one of the pouches at her hip, setting it and beginning to work, a smile growing on her lips as it came closer and closer to full circle. The cut snapped as it was finished, and fell with a thump against the cushion. She reached in, and secured her prize.

"Fancy meeting you here." An all too familiar, deep voice muttered from behind her. She turned, her face not registering any surprise as she gazed upon Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate life form himself, and the master of Chaos Control.

"I could say the same." Rouge said, her tone cocky as ever as she sauntered forward, the Chaos Emerald in one hand as the other rested upon a hip. "You don't need Chaos Emeralds anymore, right? So what brings you to a billionaire's mansion at two in the morning?"

Shadow sniffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"Or _do_ you need it?" She pursued, leaning forward with a smile.

"I have answers that a Chaos Emerald may help me acquire." Shadow said in his usual, callous tone. "You're holding my prize."

"_Your_ prize." She echoed, leaning back and cupping her chin as she brought the emerald up to eye level between them, appraising it with a flirtatious smile. She could see Shadow growing more irritated. "Maybe in exchange for a couple things, I might be willing to help."

"What?" Shadow muttered, no amusement in his tone whatsoever.

"I'd like to know what happened to you after that fiasco on Prison Island, for starters." Her eyes shifted to him as she lowered the emerald, looking just over its surface into his own.

"I left to heal. Unlike the rest of the people on this planet, I don't require weeks to recuperate."

"So what were you doing until now?"

"What do you think?" His tone grew more irritated.

Rouge sighed. That seemed enough like Shadow, where Maria wasn't involved at least; single-minded on answers and finding purpose. Getting an answer out of the stoic hedgehog would take time.

Rouge smiled, lowering her hand and depositing the emerald in another pouch.

"Alright then, let's make this easier." She stepped forward, closing the gap between them a bit longer, reaching up and setting a finger on his chest, flicking at the end of a tuft of white fur. "My place tonight, six. Come clean and hungry, we'll talk."

Shadow blinked, staring at her cluelessly a moment. "What are you playing at, Rouge?"

Rouge giggled softly. In a strange feat, quicker than the hedgehog could react in his dumbfounded state, she reached forward, and pecked her lips against his, before pulling her arm away and starting to walk into the shadows of the hall.

"Figure it out, Shadow."


End file.
